Liverpool defender Joe Gomez has been linked with a January move to Newcastle United that could prove to be transformative for both the England international and his prospective next club.
According to Football Insider, the Magpies and Aston Villa are keeping tabs on Gomez ahead of the January transfer window. They were both interested in signing the defender during the summer, when Gomez informed Liverpool that he wanted the chance to move on if a club met their asking price for him.
No deal materialised but it seems Gomez will be a figure of attention again when the transfer market reopens this winter, which is hardly surprising considering the juxtaposition between his experience, pedigree and lack of game-time under Arne Slot. Newcastle’s own struggles this season, meanwhile, make Gomez an ideal candidate to come in and steady the ship mid-campaign.
Newcastle’s Underwhelming Start to the Season
On paper, few complaints can be had about Newcastle picking up ten points in their first five games of the campaign. Extrapolate that across a whole season and the Magpies would finish on 76 points – more than they managed in 2022/23 when qualifying for the Champions League by finishing in fourth place.
But Newcastle’s actual performances have been far less convincing. They scraped a 1-0 home win over Southampton on the opening day with just 22% possession, albeit after going down to ten men early on. They then needed a late goal to draw with Bournemouth and required a half-time triple substitution to turn around an anonymous first 45 minutes against early relegation contenders Wolves to eventually win 2-1. They admittedly looked a lot better in their 2-1 home victory over Spurs, but last weekend they were pulled apart by Fulham who ran out 3-1 winners at Craven Cottage.
The Toon have fought their way to good results but their next five opponents in the Premier League include Manchester City, Brighton, Arsenal and Chelsea. It will be difficult to continue picking up points without playing well and Newcastle’s league position could look very different to their current placing of 6th after the upcoming run of tricky games.
Magpies’ Defensive Issues
Impact of Botman injury and failed Guehi pursuit
Newcastle just don’t pass the eye-test at the back and the statistics don’t make great reading either. They’ve conceded the third-most shots of any team in the division and rank sixth for xG conceded – in fact, the difference between their xG conceded of 10.44 and actual goals conceded of just 5 is the biggest gap in the entire Premier League, and suggests their luck will run out sooner rather than later.
But Newcastle’s struggles defensively this season are hardly a surprise considering the leve of change in personnel dating back to the tail-end of last season. Lewis Hall came into the team at left-back in April, with Dan Burn shifting across to centre-half. On the opposite flank the vastly experienced Kieran Trippier has been ousted by Tino Livramento this term, while Nick Pope has returned to No.1 duties in place of Martin Dubravka.
All of those changes have been made for valid reasons, not least including Sven Botman’s long-term injury which was the initial catalyst for the many disruptions at the back. But the point nonetheless remains that Newcastle’s backline looks very different this season and still isn’t the strongest defence they could put out when everyone is fit. It also seems to lack pace, especially in central positions with Burn often exposed by fleet-footed opposition.
Seemingly aware of the problem, Newcastle tried to sign Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi during the summer with a series of failed bids. Gomez would be a shrewd alternative with a similar profile of pace and quality on the ball.
Gomez Needs a Move
Injuries have seen him slip down the pecking order
There was a period of Gomez’s career when he looked destined to be Virgil van Dijk’s long-term partner at the heart of Liverpool’s defence. Unfortunately, injuries have prevented that from becoming a reality, managing between just six and 17 starts over the last four Premier League seasons. Nonetheless, he did feature more prominently last term with 32 appearances overall and drew praise from former manager Jurgen Klopp, who described him as a ‘top-class player’.
“[He] played exceptional today again. He’s a real defender and he comes inside, he’s doing that really well. People forget how important Joey was in the best years we had. I don’t know how many games he played in the year when we became champions and how many games he played when we won the Champions League – a lot and rightly so because he’s a top-class player.
Gomez still possesses a lot of pedigree but Slot hasn’t given him much of a look-in since replacing Klopp in the summer. Aside from a Carabao Cup outing against West Ham, Gomez has barely kicked a ball this season with a mere 11 minutes in the Champions League under his belt. In the Premier League, he’s spent the last four games as an unused substitute – and was left out of the opening day squad entirely.
But a fully fit Gomez would be a fantastic asset for a club with Newcastle’s ambitions – someone who can offer Champions League and Premier League title-winning experience, while also having plenty of years left in the tank at the age of 27, and a great counter-point for the more physical Botman. Although it remains to be seen just how quickly Botman can be reintegrated into the first team, that partnership – or even one with Schar – would give Newcastle a much sturdier platform in central defence for the remainder of the campaign, which could breed greater confidence throughout the rest of the starting XI.
