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Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has offered Joe Gomez a lifeline regarding his future at the club after admitting he expects all his current squad to remain with him this season.
Speculation about the versatile defender began in June when he was linked with Newcastle and that intensified when he was left out of Slot’s first matchday squad for last weekend’s win at Ipswich.
Liverpool have no intention of trying to push out their current longest-serving player, particularly as they would have to buy a last-minute replacement to ensure their squad is not left short.
However, they have allowed him to explore his options in terms of being able to gain more playing time elsewhere, even if last season only Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold managed more minutes than him among the defenders, although much of that time was spent filling in at left-back.
Asked where Gomez’s head was after being left out last week, Slot said: “It has been in the right place for three weeks. He has worked really hard since he came back.
“He didn’t play a lot in the Euros and when he came back in the first sessions he couldn’t train the whole session so we had to manage his load and that was also a bit a reason why he wasn’t in the team on Saturday.
“But this week he had a good week in terms of load and how much he could do with the team.
“He is one of the players that I see new things from and learn things what I see from him, also combined with other players. It has been a good week for him and us until now.
“At this moment I am expecting everyone to be here. (But) everything can change.”
Gomez appears currently to be fourth-choice centre-back but Slot is not prepared to guarantee anyone the place alongside captain Virgil van Dijk, with his fellow Dutch seemingly not even safe himself.
Last weekend Jarell Quansah started but was replaced by Ibrahima Konate at half-time as Slot wanted to change the dynamic and it had the desired effect, with two second-half goals winning the game with a much-improved performance.
While Van Dijk remains the linchpin of the defence, Slot was keen to suggest there was valid competition.
“Virgil came in three weeks ago (after his delayed summer break) and in my opinion he made a lot of impact when he came back,” said the head coach.
At this moment it is clear Virgil is playing and he will also play on Sunday if he is fit— Arne Slot on Virgil van Dijk
“He made a lot of impact in all these years and he played here but me working with him he has shown how much he cares about the team and how good he is.
“But for him, and the same with Mo (Salah) and all the others, they still have to bring their performances in, so in my opinion there are four players having competition for two positions.
“But at this moment it is clear Virgil is playing and he will also play on Sunday if he is fit.”
On Thursday Liverpool offloaded 22-year-old centre-back Sepp van den Berg to Sunday’s opponents Brentford, having previously sold fellow youngster Fabio Carvalho to the Bees and also 19-year-old midfielder Bobby Clark to Red Bull Salzburg.
Others are expected to leave before the end of the window, either permanently or on loan, but incomings for the senior side remain at zero and any change to that appears unlikely.
Asked if he was bothered by that, Slot said: “No, because I trust the team.
“We just try to work as hard as we can with them and trust them a lot. They have proven last week they have earned this trust and I am hoping they can show the same on Sunday as well.
“This club will always bring through good youngsters and it’s always a challenge to find the right moment either to play them or if they have played quite a lot of minutes, they want to take the next step in their careers.
“If that is not possible because Virgil van Dijk or Mo Salah is playing here or the other top players, then it’s the best for them and also the club to let them go.”
