On Friday in Amsterdam, teammates Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez stood opposite each other during the practice interland between the Dutch and England (0-1). Liverpool’s 20-year-old defender had to leave the field with an injury after only ten minutes. To Sky Sports Gomez says he is happy with the wintery arrival of Van Dijk to Liverpool.
With the arrival of the Dutchman, Gomez may not be able to get a place in the first team of Liverpool as a centre defender as quickly as possible, but the young defender does not experience this himself: “I don’t see it as if he is blocking my path, it is an opportunity to learn a lot from him. It’s not that I get stressed or paranoid when a player comes in. On the contrary, I try to take everything in and be a huge sponge,” says the triple English international.
“I think Virgil is a great presence, everyone can see that. He has a very dominant way of playing and with his body language he shows that he is strong at the ball,” Gomez continues. Liverpool’s main focus this season is on Mohamed Salah, who has already recorded 36 hits. During his first interland for England, Gomez took on Neymar, “I’m not sure who is better.
“They’re both great players, and it’s great for me to be able to play with or against such players. You have to find the balance between respecting someone and realizing that he is your opponent. You should not show awe, because that can turn out to be wrong. I’m just trying to learn a lot from it,” concludes Liverpool’s defender.
Do you think that Joe Gomez will be included in the UK World Cup selection?
