'Everybody was, and is, sure about his quality' - Klopp on Joe Gomez
There was never any doubt in Jürgen Klopp's mind that Joe Gomez has what it takes to succeed at Liverpool.
Gomez is set to make his long-awaited return to first-team action in this weekend’s FA Cup third-round match against Plymouth Argyle, with the teenager having not played for the Reds’ senior side since October 2015.
An anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained while on international duty with England U21s interrupted Gomez’s progress at the start of last season and that, along with a subsequent Achilles problem, means the defender has yet to feature under Klopp.
But the boss always believed that the 19-year-old possesses all the tools to perform at first-team level once he regained fitness.
Klopp was asked on Friday whether Gomez's ability, potential and prospective development had led to him opting against delving into the transfer market while he was sidelined.
“It depends on the quality of the player - it’s not about having the talent or whatever, if you bring a talent too early then it doesn’t help him, that’s how it is. But Joe, for sure, is worth keeping kind of space in the squad for,” he replied.
“It was really unlucky, I still can remember the situation when he had the injury. I saw it in the U21 game, I watched it on television and thought ‘Oh my God!’. So, really unlucky.
“Of course, sometimes life should be nice, that the train is not running away without you, and that’s what we always thought about that.
“Everybody was sure about his quality, everybody is sure about his quality. He’s a very, very young boy and we took him for a reason - OK, before I was here, but it was a good reason. So yes, we try to create somehow space that he can develop and perform when possible.”
Gomez’s knee injury coincided almost exactly with Klopp’s appointment as Liverpool manager 15 months ago, but the boss revealed that the player’s unavailability may even have strengthened their relationship.
“We had actually a lot of contact. That’s how it is with injured players, a lot of time of the day [they are] here because they have treatment, different kinds of therapy, training, whatever,” Klopp added.
“So for a player who’s nearly never played for me, we have a good relationship I would say. I spoke to him [more] than maybe other players. We met always because I’m here a little bit longer than the players obviously. We met at lunchtime, we had dinner a lot of times together so yes, it’s good.”
Klopp was also quizzed on whether Gomez - who has made six appearances for the Reds’ U23s since returning in a behind-closed-doors friendly at Melwood in November - had been working on his physical strength during his time on the sidelines.
“Actually, we thought already we had to step back a little bit from this development because he is already… [he has] no muscle issues, I would say!” he said.
“Players always need to be mobile and all that stuff, that’s important, but of course when you train that long at this age and are a little bit skilled in muscle growing, then it happens.
“But he’s already much more mobile again and that’s important.”