'Joe Gomez's return is like a new signing for LFC'
The return of Joe Gomez is the equivalent of Jürgen Klopp making a new signing, former Liverpool defender Phil Babb believes.
Gomez has not featured for the Reds' first team since October 2015 after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury while on international duty with England U21s and then an Achilles problem during his recovery.
After making six appearances for Liverpool's U23s over the last six weeks or so, the teenager is in line to play for Klopp for the first time in tomorrow's FA Cup third-round tie with Plymouth Argyle at Anfield.
Ex-Reds centre-back Babb is a huge admirer of Gomez and feels his return is a big boost for Klopp.
“Joe Gomez is an exceptional talent, there is no doubt about that,” Babb told Liverpoolfc.com.
“It will be great to see him out there on the pitch again in a first-team jersey. It has been a long road back for him.
“We saw fleeting cameos of him under Brendan Rodgers when was a centre-half playing as a left-back and I thought he did really well.
“Joe has got all the attributes and he is a fantastic athlete. It was just a really unfortunate injury for the whole club because in the same week we also lost Danny Ings to a cruciate injury.
“He has been playing really well for the U23s and this is a great opportunity for the fans to see him and welcome him back on Sunday.”
Former Republic of Ireland international Babb first recalls casting his eye over Gomez when he was coming through the ranks at former club Charlton Athletic.
“I was doing some agency work in London and remember him as a really talented youngster who was very much on the radar of a lot of clubs,” he said.
“Physically he is really strong, he is unflustered on the ball and is quite creative for a defensive player.
“When I read lots of rumours about the manager supposedly wanting another centre-half...[well] we already have one of the best talents around in our ranks and that is Joe Gomez.
“We can trust Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip and Ragnar Klavan at centre-half. We can also add Joe to that and Lucas Leiva, who always does a great job. I don’t think we are too bad at all when it comes to the centre-halves we have available.”
Ahead of another hectic week of cup and league football ahead for the Reds, Klopp is expected to shuffle his pack for the visit of Plymouth.
And should the likes of Kevin Stewart, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ovie Ejaria and Ben Woodburn get another chance, Babb has backed them to shine.
“For me this is one of the good things about this club is that the DNA of Liverpool FC says we produce good youngsters and we certainly give them a chance as we’ve seen over the years,” he said.
“The lads that have come in like Ejaria, Alexander-Arnold, Woodburn and last year Sheyi Ojo, have all been fantastic.
“Kevin is now 23 and isn’t really classed as a young player any more. We know Jürgen likes him a lot and has another great chance to hammer on that first-team door.”
With an EFL Cup semi-final first leg at Southampton on Wednesday night coming before a trip to Manchester United in the Premier League next Sunday, Babb insists Klopp has the strength in-depth needed to cope with another busy period.
He added: “It’s an exciting week for the club with games coming thick and fast. Southampton away in the first leg will be tough as we’ve seen how resilient they can be, but if as expected the manager rests a few players against Plymouth then we will be at full throttle for the trip to St Mary’s.
“The League Cup is a competition we have done really well in and are the most successful team when it comes to how many we have won.
“It’s another chance for us to go to Wembley and a chance to pick up some domestic silverware and we want to have a good run in the FA Cup as well.
“We also have the challenge of the Premier League but this is where we want to be. I know we also play Chelsea at the end of January so it’s a tough month for us, but I do think we have that strength in depth with this squad.”