Liverpool made a habit of buying from the Premier League’s relegated teams during Jurgen Klopp’s time at Anfield, and were shown the value of bringing in players who were used to scrapping for their futures in the division.
Andy Robertson, Gini Wijnaldum and Xherdan Shaqiri all came in to relatively little fanfare, but all delivered during a special period for the Reds.
Fast forward to 2026, and Liverpool‘s transfer strategy has changed somewhat. But according to reports from Brazil, the Reds have now made contact over signing Joao Gomes, recently relegated with Wolves.
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Though the 25-year-old would not be the most glamorous midfield option Liverpool could sign this summer, he might just be exactly the kind of profile Andoni Iraola needs next season.
His brilliant nickname, ‘The Pitbull’, just about says it all. Liverpool were badly lacking bite, fight and aggression in midfield last season. Gomes could absolutely provide that, and the fact he’s been used to battling for every last point with Wolves should come in handy as well.
Gomes can restore some physicality to Liverpool’s midfield
It is not only on the pitch which Gomes is known to be a battler. The Brazilian also struggles with a stutter while speaking, and has bravely spoken out about his battles against it.
It is on these kinds of characters which Klopp built Liverpool in the 2010s and 2020s, and with Iraola looking to implement a similarly intense, robust style of play, they need to bring some of that back to the club. Gomes can do that.
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Amazingly, the Brazil international was ranked third in the whole of the Premier League for tackles in 2025/26, registering 107 for the season. Only Joao Palhinha and James Garner made more.
He also ranked inside the top 30 players for interceptions, making 36 across the season.
What will perhaps impress Liverpool fans the most, though, is that Gomes was also third-best in terms of volume of duels won across the campaign.
The Wolves man won a whopping 226, just more than fourth and fifth placed Ibrahima Konate (220) and Virgil van Dijk (216), finishing only behind James Tarkowski and Elliot Anderson. He isn’t afraid of going toe-to-toe with anyone on the pitch, and that is something Liverpool have been badly missing from the players in front of their defence.
Gomes would not have to be a starter
Despite his impressive statistics, some Liverpool supporters will understandably be concerned that Gomes does not have the quality to displace any of their current midfielders.
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On form, the former Flamengo starlet is probably not as good as Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister or Dominik Szoboszlai.
Nevertheless, there are certain matches which cry out for a more physical approach. As things stand – as evidenced by last season – Liverpool could not rise to those games.
Wataru Endo can do it, but the Japanese lacks a certain amount of quality, and has not been able to get himself consistently fit anyway. Gomes would be a big upgrade on Endo, and for the reported £38m fee, could be seen as someone to flesh out the squad and give Iraola a different profile.
From there, anything is possible. Players have joined Liverpool as squad players in the past and gone on to be legends of the club. First get The Pitbull through the door and then let him off the leash, he is exactly what Liverpool have been missing.
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