Jurgen Klopp says two senior Liverpool players aren’t injured – they’re just casualties of the Reds’ deep squad. Joe Gomez and Divock Origi are in trouble.
Joe Gomez and Divock Origi are struggling to get into the Liverpool squad right now, let alone the first XI. The Reds just have that kind of squad depth, with it at a level they haven’t ever really had.
Jurgen Klopp certainly sees it that way, claiming he’s never had depth like this at Liverpool. We’d wholeheartedly agree – there’s strength in every single position right now. From goalkeeper to centre-forward, the Reds have at least two quality players.
But that comes at a cost. Liverpool can’t name a 22-man squad for each game, after all, and some players have to miss out. It’s something that sees Joe Gome and Divock Origi in strange positions.
Jurgen Klopp on Liverpool absences
“They’re not injured,” Klopp told a press conference. “It hasn’t happened a lot where we’ve had this kind of quality players and they couldn’t make the squad.
“For Joe, obviously, it’s the situation where we have to make a decision on having a second centre-half on the bench or not. With Div, it was about not being long back in training after his injury. But both will train fully.”
Both players have done so much for Liverpool and, importantly, both are supposedly in the prime of their careers. Origi, certainly, should be starting every week at this stage – but there’s next to no chance of that at Anfield. It sounds as though Klopp took advantage of the squad to be extra patient around his injury. At the same time, we don’t see how he gets in even once he’s full healed.
Gomez can perhaps count youth on his side. He’s still only 24 and there’s time for him to recapture his place at the heart of Liverpool’s defence. Right now, though, he’s fourth-choice and we’re not sure how long he’ll put up with that.
After all, he was a starting centre-back for dominant Premier League champions just a couple of years ago. Is sitting outside the squad really enough?
These are the problems with having a deep squad, though. And they’re certainly problems Klopp would rather have after last season.
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