As Liverpool 's third signing of the summer, the news that Calvin Ramsay put pen to paper on a five-year contract after his £6.5 million transfer from Aberdeen gave fans even more reason to be cheerful about the future at Anfield.
Following Fabio Carvalho and Darwin Nunez through the door, the 18-year-old has further bolstered the Reds' ranks for the present and future, as the club bid to capitalise on the success of Jurgen Klopp 's era to build a long-lasting dynasty. As newly-appointed sporting director Julian Ward sits back in his office and takes stock of how his grand plan is going, one issue is on the horizon.
After adding three players to Klopp's squad before the first full week of the summer transfer window had ended, the Liverpool chief is now set to open talks over new contracts for four first-team players: Diogo Jota, Naby Keita, Harvey Elliott and Joe Gomez. While supporters would expect three of them to be keen to agree fresh terms, it's the latter who's future has been thrust into further doubt by Ramsay's arrival.
Gomez already has a deal which runs until 2024, meaning that the defender shouldn't be in any rush to tie himself down - not that many would advise him to anyway. Gomez has started just 10 Premier League games over the past two seasons, firmly being put down the pecking order at centre-back by the excellence of Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate.
Of course, the ex- Charlton Athletic starlet missed the vast majority of the 2020-21 campaign through another serious injury, but at 25, his chances of making it at Anfield have been rendered slim. That's because last term saw him used as Trent Alexander-Arnold 's understudy at right-back, the role which Ramsay is primed to take up.
If those plans soon prove to be a success, Gomez would be third and fourth choice in his two favoured positions, making minutes even harder to come by. Mirror Football understands that Ward is trying to convince the £25m-rated defender that he remains in Klopp's plans for the future at Anfield amid links of a move to Aston Villa, where Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard hopes to prise him.
Klopp would prefer to keep Gomez and watch him step up to eventually replace Van Dijk and Matip - who both turn 31 this summer - rather than dip into the transfer market, but there's a feeling that the next six months are vital in the 11-capped England international's career. Gomez is still holding out hope to be included in Gareth Southgate 's squad for the World Cup, a prospect which has been boosted by the lack of top-quality centre-backs in the Three Lions camp.
With that in mind, Ward likely won't find it easy to convince Gomez to sign a new contract, as a transfer looks his best bet to represent his country in Qatar, a tournament which kicks off only three months into the new season.
Klopp, though, has publicly backed the 25-year-old to feature regularly in the years to come, noting after Gomez played at right-back in the Reds' 2-0 victory over Watford towards the end of the campaign: "He's an outstanding ball player and he will play a lot of games in his career, he will play here a lot of games, definitely. This season was tricky for him, but who knows how things can change. He is ready. To use the opportunity when he gets it."
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No-doubt pleasing to hear from your boss, but it's hard to imagine Gomez being chuffed to hear about Ramsay rocking up, someone who's seven years younger and already declaring his ambitions to break into the senior setup next term.
"It's not just a massive club, they give young players chances in the first team," the Scot explained upon the move down south. "So if I can come in in pre-season, put my mark down, then there's no reason why I can't push to get in the first-team squad."
