As per reports from the Mirror, Liverpool are understood to be in talks with defender Joe Gomez over a new contract. The 21-year old, who only penned fresh terms last season, is set to be handed a bumper wage boost after impressing at the start of this campaign (h/t Mirror).
The 2018/19 Premier League season is still in its infancy but Liverpool have put together a rather impressive defensive record during the first few weeks. Barring an error from new signing Alisson against Leicester City, the Reds’ rearguard kept everything out in their first four Premier League outings.
And a good portion of that early success can be attributed to Gomez’s solid start to the season. Having undergone a surgery in the summer to rectify an ankle problem that robbed him of a place in the Champions League final and a spot in Gareth Southgate’s England World Cup squad, the Englishman has picked up where he left off.
The defender, who arrived at Liverpool from Charlton Athletic back in 2015 for £3.5 million (h/t The Telegraph), has deputized for Dejan Lovren in the Reds’ backline, with the Croatian arriving with a pelvic injury from the World Cup.
And while there might have been some concerns initially, Gomez has stepped up to the challenge exceptionally. The 21-year-old hasn’t missed a single minute of action in the new season and was easily the Reds’ most solid defender in their previous two encounters against Brighton & Hove Albion and Leicester City. His composure and maturity have been admirable, to say the least.
His performances for the Reds did not go unnoticed as he made his return to the England national team set-up after missing the World Cup. The defender started in the Three Lions’ 2-1 UEFA Nations League defeat against Spain and made a strong impression.
Gomez is still some way away from being the finished article but his growth and development have been exceptional. And given Lovren and Joel Matip’s trysts with injury, the 21-year-old’s spurt of form couldn’t have come at a better time for Liverpool.
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Considering the form and the authority he has shown in the campaign so far, his place in the starting XI must remain intact even when Lovren and Matip are fully fit. And to go with his newly-attained status at the club, the defender deserves to be rewarded with a new and improved contract.
