Liverpool signing is absolutely vital after Joe Gomez injury update

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Jurgen Klopp gave an injury update on Joe Gomez ahead of the weekend. It highlights the desperate need for a late January signing.

Jurgen Klopp said he doesn’t expect Joe Gomez to play again this season in an injury update on Friday. Despite that, the defender is progressing well.

“Joe Gomez is actually in a pretty good place, but far away from being back,” he said, per the Liverpool Echo.

“So he walks round looks completely normal, but is not yet out on the pitch running. It was just a really tough injury as well.

“Will he be available this season? When does the season end, May? It will be close at least, I would say.

“I don’t expect [it] – and I would be positively surprised if he would be back this season, to be honest.”

That’s a disappointment as initial reports claimed Gomez could return before the season ended. With the player out, the need for a transfer is greater than ever.

Desperate times

Both The Times and the Telegraph report that Liverpool will try to sign someone before the January transfer window closes.

That comes in the wake of Fabinho and Joel Matip both being out. Virgil van Dijk, of course, is out long-term.

That all leaves Liverpool without their first, second, third and fourth-choice centre-halves right now. A dire situation.

Fabinho should return okay, although this is his second injury of the season. Matip just can’t stay fit.

The hope, then, was that Gomez could return for the ‘business end’ of the campaign. Perhaps he’d be okay to play some crunch, trophy-contending games.

That won’t happen, however, or is at least highly unlikely. Instead, the Reds are looking at just having Matip as a senior centre-half option and Fabinho as a stop-gap from midfield.

But fitness issues mean neither will be too reliable. Matip being far worse in that regard.

So with Liverpool looking at several games with Nat Phillips, Rhys Williams, or Jordan Henderson at the back, they desperately need to sign someone.

Otherwise, that trio will inevitably end up at the back during high-pressure end of season games. The ‘safety’ of Gomez’s return is gone and Liverpool really can’t afford to fail in their transfer pursuit.