Jordan Henderson praises defender

Reds captain Jordan Henderson has been full of praise for Liverpool centre-back Joe Gomez.

Gomez has become a regular in Jurgen Klopp’s XI again after Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren were ruled out of action with long-term injuries.

Gomez, who is coming back from a long-term injury himself, has started the last four games. One of those fixtures was the FIFA Club World Cup final against Flamengo, which the Reds won 1-0.

Heading into tonight’s Premier League clash against Sheffield United at Anfield, Henderson lauded Gomez in his pre-game column.

“Inside the dressing room we have a lot of good leaders, a lot of big characters, who every day are pushing each other on to make sure the level doesn’t drop in training, that we’re pushing ourselves to improve even further,” Henderson wrote in his column for Liverpool’s matchday programme.

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LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 14: Joe Gomez of Liverpool challenges for the ball with Ismaila Sarr of Watford during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Watford FC at Anfield on December 14, 2019 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

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“Set a standard, meet it, then look to exceed it. Never stop focusing on what we can do better. That’s our mantra.

“An individual who has embodied that recently for us has been Joe Gomez. The start to his season wasn’t straightforward. He had setbacks to contend with and challenges to face.”

Henderson added: “We all know what a massive talent Joe is, but at this level it’s also about perseverance. It’s meant the world to all of us to see how he’s stepped up yet again and is playing with such confidence and control.

“Joe isn’t someone who is bothered about individual praise and he’ll be the first to say that, in terms of contribution to the team, he has even more to give.

“But I think his situation is a great example to any player that hard work and only hard work is the path to achieving something special – be it as a person or a team.”

It is great to hear the captain speak so highly of the 22-year-old. It was clear that when he first came back into the side he was quite rusty.

However, anyone that had seen Gomez prior to his injury last season knew he was a serious talent.

As good as Matip has been, there is no denying Gomez is Virgil van Dijk’s future long-term partner in the heart of the defence.

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Source: anfieldhq.com