Virgil van Dijk is showing Joe Gomez the way

Joe Gomez considers Virgil van Dijk to be ‘like a brother’ since the Dutchman arrived from Southampton in January earlier this year.

The Dutchman has made quite an impression in his short time at Liverpool. Both on and off the pitch, Van Dijk has proven to be some leader.

“He is as you’d expect – dominant,” Gomez told Liverpoolfc.com when asked about Van Dijk.

“He is a good guy, he was skipper at Southampton and is for Holland, and his presence is felt within the camp.

“I personally get on well with him, both in terms of what we’re into and banter-wise. He is a good guy and it’s a pleasure to play alongside him. Hopefully I can keep learning from him and keep progressing.

“As I said, we get on well off the pitch – he’s like my big brother. It’s a pleasure to play with him and it’s about learning from him. He is experienced, and I’ve got time to grow into that position [centre-back].

“I enjoy playing there; hopefully we can build and keep progressing together.”

Gomez believes there is plenty to learn from a quality player like Van Dijk, and there are certain aspects the Englishman would like to add to his game that his teammate already possesses.

“I think his dominance – the way he can dominate, not just off the ball or in physical battles, but on the ball and the way he has his presence on the pitch felt,” said Gomez.

“It’s something that comes with experience and is something I want to bring into my game by keeping on learning. I’ll do my best to do so.”

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HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND – Tuesday, January 30, 2018: Liverpool’s Joe Gomez during the FA Premier League match between Huddersfield Town FC and Liverpool FC at the John Smith’s Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

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Gomez could potentially play alongside Van Dijk in the heart of the Liverpool defence come the opening game of the Premier League season against West Ham United.

With Joel Matip injured and Dejan Lovren on holiday, an opportunity may present itself for Gomez.

“It’s about progressing during the summer and there are still a lot of games to go in pre-season, so that has to be the focus for me now,” Gomez said.

“You’ve got to visualise yourself in the best possible position and I’ll be doing all I can to be prepared if that’s the case. If not, then not – but of course I have to prepare mentally for that possibility and make sure I am ready on and off the pitch.”

Reflecting on pre-season thus far, Gomez is keen for Liverpool to continue building towards a successful season.

“It’s always good to come away; the tours are always well put together and there’s always amazing support. We tend to rotate between America and Asia and it’s amazing to come out here and play. They are great stadiums, amazing venues to play at, so it’s good,” said Gomez.

“It wasn’t the best start for us [against Borussia Dortmund] in terms of the result, but we had positives in the performance to take. Now it’s about building from that.

“It’s crucial, especially at this point as we’re building into the season. It’s the level we want to be at and it’s important we test ourselves at that level. It was a good experience for us to get the time under our belts against good opposition. Now we’re looking to build on that in some big games coming up.”

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Source: anfieldhq.com