Klopp planning to make use of Gomez’s versatility

Jurgen Klopp sees Joe Gomez as both a centre-half and a right-back and intends to use him in both positions over the course of the season.

Gomez has long expressed his preference for a central role, but spent much of last season competing with Trent Alexander-Arnold for the right-back spot in the absence of Nathaniel Clyne.

The youngster could, as he desires, start the season alongside Virgil van Dijk in the heart of the defence with Joel Matip injured and Dejan Lovren enjoying a post-World Cup break, and while Klopp says Gomez is well-suited to playing centre-back, he insists he has more strings to his bow.

“I know that Joe can play both, that’s how it is,” he told the press following the 2-1 friendly win against Manchester City. “At the moment, we have a young winger who can play full-back – Rafa Camacho obviously enjoys that a lot, more the offensive part of the job than the defensive part, but it’s quite good.

“Clyney’s here, so Joe can get minutes as a centre-half. He suits it really well – all his strength, his speed, power, his passing is usually really good in this position so I like it a lot.

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LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – Saturday, October 14, 2017: Liverpool’s Joe Gomez during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

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“But it’s absolutely possible that he will play the next game, for example, in full-back. He can do that, we don’t have to make it more complicated than it is.

“We don’t know what happens until the start [of the season]. We don’t know when Joel [Matip] is back, we don’t know exactly when Dejan [Lovren] is coming back, so [the fact] that Joe can play both positions is for sure a big benefit for us.”

Gomez is looking to build on a solid 17/18 campaign in which he received his first England call-ups.

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Source: anfieldhq.com