£45m Liverpool player misses out on Arne Slot’s first ever Premier League squad after rumours he could leave

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Arne Slot has named his first ever Liverpool squad for a Premier League fixture.

The Reds are taking on Ipswich Town on Saturday lunchtime as Slot aims to become the first Reds manager to win his first game during the Premier League era.

It’s set to be a tough test at Portman Road, with Ipswich still buzzing from back-to-back promotions from League One.

But after an excellent pre-season, Liverpool still go into the game as strong favourites. And after seeing the new head coach’s line-up, that feeling should only have grown.

Nevertheless, the 20 players named as part of Liverpool’s matchday group on Saturday still had one very notable omission.

Joe Gomez left out of Liverpool squad

We had expected that Slot might go with Curtis Jones over Alexis Mac Allister against Ipswich, but otherwise, it’s as expected from Liverpool.

Mac Allister gets the nod in midfield alongside Ryan Gravenberch, with Dominik Szoboszlai completing the midfield.

Slot had another decision to make in the defence, with Jarell Quansah and Ibrahima Konate battling to partner Virgil van Dijk.

Quansah has won that first battle, but rather more interestingly, Liverpool’s fourth centre-back option, Joe Gomez, was not named in the group.

READ MORE: Joe Gomez isn’t going to be happy with his role at Liverpool this season

Gomez has been linked with a move away from Anfield during the summer and according to The Times, his departure from the squad is indeed linked with a potential transfer.

It’s claimed that although there is no guarantee that Gomez will leave the club, he is said to have had a ‘grown up discussion’ with the No.2 about his position in the team.

Newcastle agreed a £45m deal to sign Gomez back in June, before the Magpies pulled the plug.

It’s claimed that Newcastle remain one of the clubs interested in the 27-year-old, with Chelsea, Aston Villa and Bayern Munich named as other potentially with Gomez on the radar.

Should Liverpool sell Joe Gomez?

If Gomez is to leave Liverpool, then it’s absolutely imperative that the Reds bring in a new signing.

There have been reports this week that Liverpool are preparing a bid for Goncalo Inacio and perhaps these two stories are linked.

It would be a real shame to lose Gomez, who has been at the club for longer than anyone else.

His versatility was a real boost for Jurgen Klopp and the former Charlton youngster would be incredibly handy to have around for Slot.

But if Gomez is down the pecking order and Liverpool can bring in more than £40m and a new signing like Inacio, then you have to say it does make some sense.