Liverpool’s longest-serving player, Joe Gomez, is now being tipped for a summer exit, with Crystal Palace mooted as a potential destination.
The Reds are already facing a huge summer of change, with Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson leaving and Alisson Becker also expected to leave Liverpool if the right deal arrives. Losing Gomez would add another senior departure to a dressing room that already looks set for major disruption.
He may not always be the first name on the teamsheet, but Gomez is one of the few players left who has competed for titles season after season. Even so, a move now looks increasingly possible.
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Joe Gomez has offers on the table with Crystal Palace likely at the top of the list
Palace wanted Gomez last summer when Liverpool were chasing Marc Guehi.
At the time, a loan move to Selhurst Park was discussed as part of the wider picture around Guehi. Liverpool eventually decided not to let Gomez go, only to miss out on the Palace captain when he joined Manchester City in January.
In hindsight, that was a costly decision, although keeping Gomez felt like the right call at the time.
Nevertheless, Palace are still looking at the Liverpool defender as he considers his future.
Speaking to Anfield Index, Lewis Steele said: “I do think Gomez will go, the way he was talking saying he was grateful for his time at the club. I do think that he’s got offers on the table.
“Palace I think were one of them to replace Guehi, he obviously left in January and Lacroix might leave in the summer. So yeah, I think Gomez will leave.”
Gomez has been a fantastic servant for Liverpool.
He was part of the teams that conquered Europe and England (twice), and his ability to play centre-back, right-back and left-back has made him a hugely valuable squad member.
As Jurgen Klopp once said about him (via Liverpoolfc.com): “People forget how important Joey was in the best years we had.
“I don’t know how many games he played in the year when we became champions and how many games he played when we won the Champions League, a lot and rightly so because he’s a top-class player.”
Should Curtis Jones keep his place at right-back against Aston Villa?
Or is Joe Gomez a better option?
That is the question Liverpool need to ask themselves now.
Yes, funds must be generated for a major summer rebuild. But with Salah, Robertson and potentially Alisson leaving Anfield, there is also a strong argument for keeping Gomez around until a new leadership group is properly established.
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