Liverpool look set to extend Joe Gomez’s contract at the club, which will surely put an end to any prospect of Matthijs de Ligt’s arrival.
The Reds have been heavily linked to de Ligt as he looks to engineer a move away from Juventus. It has even been claimed to be a ‘dream’ for Liverpool to partner him with Virgil Van Dijk.
If that is the case, then it looks like for now at least, Liverpool’s dream has ended.
With Gomez poised to commit his long-term future to the club, there seems little need of adding another expensive – albeit quality – addition.
de Ligt no longer an option for Liverpool
According to Correire dello Sport, de Ligt will cost any interested party at least £85m this summer. That’s a reduction on his £107m release clause, but still a phenomenal amount.
Liverpool have shown that they will potentially part with those kind of fees if they feel it to be necessary. In this instance though, it surely isn’t.
Had Gomez decided his time was up at Liverpool, then steps might have had to be taken. Jurgen Klopp has stared into the abyss of going into a season with three senior centre-backs and it’s surely not something he’d be keen to do again.
With an addition needed, and de Ligt on the market, maybe there could have been something going on. At twenty-two, he is young enough to have forged a long-lasting partnership with Ibrahima Konate once Van Dijk moves on.
But as a result of Gomez’s willingness to continue at Liverpool, there’s simply no need.
Gomez is slightly older than de Ligt. But at twenty-five he’s still young enough to slowly take over the reigns from Virgil and Joel Matip.
Klopp clearly sees him as part of his long-term plans at Liverpool. As a result of Gomez feeling the same way, any plans of bringing in de Ligt, Gleison Bremer, or anyone else, can be shelved for now.
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