It is, in many ways, silly season. There are links for Liverpool to sign players every five minutes and the club has no real interest in the majority of them. When it comes to whether or not to believe possible links, you need to wait for one of the local patch journalists to say something, which is precisely what Ian Doyle has done in the case of a deal to send Joe Gomez to Newcastle in order to grease the wheels for Anthony Gordon to head to Anfield.
Writing in the Liverpool Echo, Doyle has said that the Reds agreed a deal to sell Gomez for £45 million and sign Gordon for £75 million. My question is, would that be a good swap?
It Would Weaken us Defensively
The first and most important fact is that selling Joe Gomez would leave us weaker defensively. It is important to remember that Joel Matip left in the summer, with his contract having reached its conclusion. Many would have said that we needed another centre-back even before that happened, so Matip leaving has left us even shorter at the back.
Whilst Jarell Quansah has undoubtedly impressed, he is still young and we should expect a regression in his performances at some point. Add into that the facts that Virgil van Dijk is another year older and Ibrahima Konaté picks up injuries regularly and you can see why many are concerned.
The problem should Joe Gomez leave is he covers all positions at the back. That versatility is priceless and not easy to replace with one player. #LFC #Gomez
— Neil Andrew (@bleedinglfcred) July 31, 2024
Joe Gomez was a stalwart for Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool last season, filling in at right-back and left-back when needed, as well as playing as a defensive midfielder from time to time too. He sees himself as a centre-back, so will no doubt be disappointed that he didn’t get a run out there very often. Yes, he’s been a little bit injury prone himself in the past, but he seemed to be over the worst of that last season.
Would selling him make sense given the fact that we’d then need to bring in at least two central defenders and arguably even three? There have been very few links to players in the position, so I’m not confident we’d be able to replace him.
@leosgoals Gomez & Gordon Swap Deal?! 😳 #joegomez #anthonygordon #newcastle #everton #premierleague #footballtiktok
We’ve all seen what happens when a defensive injury crisis hits Liverpool. In the past, players such as Jordan Henderson and Fabinho Tavares had to move back to cover before we eventually put actual defenders there. Heading into this season with just Virgil van Dijk who can be depended upon at the back would put us under huge amounts of pressure. I can see why Newcastle United might want Gomez, but I’m not entirely sure I can see why Liverpool would countenance selling him.
The only thing that makes any sort of sense is if the club are convinced that there is enough in the ranks to cope with the demands of a long season.
But Strengthen us in Attack
Whilst losing Gomez would definitely leave us short at the back, if it is done in order to ensure that we can bring in Anthony Gordon from the Magpies then I think it’s at least worth thinking about. As well as the undoubted fume that would emerge from Goodison Park if Gordon lined up in Red, there is also the fact that he is a good player.
He is only 23 and yet has impressed at both Everton and Newcastle United, scoring 11 goals and getting 10 assists in 35 Premier League games last season. When you remember that that was in a team decidedly worse than Liverpool, you can start to see just how good he could be for us.
People think Anthony Gordon is better than this guy 😭 pic.twitter.com/TFwbYb14q8
— H (@TheLiverpoolEra) July 30, 2024
It is also worth noting that he scored more goals than any other player against the ‘Big 6’ last time out, which means that he has plenty to offer in the big games that Liverpool are likely to be involved in. He plays on the left, which means that he’d likely come in as a replacement for Luis Diaz, whose father has been twerking for Barcelona at every available opportunity.
Diaz is a really exciting player there’s no doubt, but his end product is nowhere near as good as Gordon’s. That being said, Cody Gakpo impressed from the left for the Netherlands, so is it a position that we desperately need to strengthen? Probably not at the expense of the defence.
