'Interest': Clubs want £45m Liverpool player and he's waiting to see how much Arne Slot uses him - Romano
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Liverpool’s summer transfer window ended up posing more questions than answers in many ways.
The Reds were strangely quiet in the market, bringing in only Federico Chiesa as a new player for the upcoming season.
This left big lingering doubts over who will play in midfield for Liverpool, with Ryan Gravenberch since stepping up and answering that one emphatically.
Perhaps the bigger questions at Anfield relates to those who could soon possibly be leaving the Liverpool squad.
Plenty of focus has been on soon-to-be out of contract trio Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, but they are not the only players who Arne Slot may not have around next season.
After a summer saga involving Aston Villa and – more prominently – Newcastle, there remains serious doubt over the future of Joe Gomez.
Joe Gomez waiting to see his role
Gomez could easily have left Liverpool over the summer. At one stage, it started to feel inevitable that the 27-year-old would bring the curtain down on his nine-year stay at the club.
After it emerged that Newcastle had agreed a £45m deal to sign Gomez in June, there seemed little hope that the defender would still be around come September.
However, despite being left out of Liverpool’s opening day squad to face Ipswich in August, Gomez did not end up making a move.
Since then, the No.2 has made just one substitute appearance under Slot, amounting to 11 minutes at San Siro against AC Milan.
While Gomez is clearly not seen as being a starter currently by Slot, the season is long and there are plenty of games left to play.
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And according to journalist Fabrizio Romano, Gomez is now waiting to see how he fits in under the Dutch coach before deciding on his next move.
“There are no concrete movements so far for Liverpool's Joe Gomez, despite recent interest,” Romano says via his Daily Briefing on Wednesday.
“Aston Villa didn’t sign a centre-back in August due to Financial Fair Play restrictions, and Newcastle wanted Guehi.
“At the moment, it’s quiet and the next months will be important to understand how much Slot will use Gomez with rotations in several competitions.”
Joe Gomez set for first start of season
It has been a strange season for many fringe players at Liverpool so far, not just Gomez.
With Slot deciding upon a clear starting XI, he has barely used some of those not deemed to be in his best team.
Nevertheless, as Romano points out, several competitions are now getting underway and rotation will almost certainly have to happen.
That could start on Wednesday, with West Ham coming to Anfield in the Carabao Cup. With another game coming just three days later, Slot is going to make changes.
One of those will surely see Gomez come into defence. Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk are likely to be rested, with Joe in line to start next to Jarell Quansah. If he’s once again kept on the bench, expect Villa and/or Newcastle’s ears to prick up.
