Grounded Gomez taking nothing for granted
Two games. Two starts. Two clean sheets. Six points. One accomplished beginning to life as a Liverpool player.
It’s probably fair to say that few fans expected this kind of immediate impact from Joe Gomez when news of his signing from Charlton Athletic was broken on Liverpoolfc.com on June 20 of this year.
Arriving at the club with 26 appearances for the Addicks, the 18-year-old was perhaps viewed as one for the future. But during a highly successful summer tour of Thailand, Australia and Malaysia, he changed that perception.
“Seeing him, in particular close at hand and his personality – he’ll be staying, he’ll get games,” Brendan Rodgers declared just shy of one month to the day Gomez had joined the Reds.
A central defender by trade, the Londoner was deployed at left-back while on tour – and has retained the berth ever since, playing the full 90 minutes of each of Liverpool’s two Barclays Premier League fixtures against Stoke City and Bournemouth.
“To be fair, it probably hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Gomez says in an exclusive interview. “I think it will over time, but at the moment I’m just trying to keep going and keep working.
“It’s definitely been far more than I expected, to come in and play the first two games. I knew there was a possibility of me going out on loan, but this was the aim – to try to get into the team.
“I’m enjoying it and I’m happy to have played – and obviously we’ve got two good wins, so it’s been great so far.
“But it’s early doors and only two games into a long season, so I know there’s still a lot of hard work to be done. I have to keep working hard to try to stay in the team.”
Diligence has served Gomez well to date. It’s not by luck or design that Rodgers has entrusted the youngster with a position within his back four.
And even though he’s earned praise from all quarters so far, the No.12 isn’t about to get side-tracked.
“It’s nice, but I tend to analyse myself,” Gomez continues. “I get feedback from the manager, the coaches and my family, so I don’t really pay attention to what’s being said about me.
“Of course, I appreciate all of the positivity and the messages, but I try not to pay too much attention to it all – I just keep focused on the next game and on keeping on playing. I know there’s a lot of work to be done."
A lot of work to be done, and still plenty of experience to gain.
Despite his impressive turnouts for the Reds so far, the size of the jump Gomez made this summer shouldn’t be overlooked.
The man himself is acutely aware he’s still firmly on something of a learning curve.
“It’s the Premier League and straight away there are different qualities – the tempo is a lot higher,” he explains when outlining the biggest differences in making the switch from Championship to top flight.
“I’m adjusting and that’s only helping me because I’m still learning. Even in training with the rest of the boys, they’re all top-quality players and it helps me to work alongside them.”