Joe Gomez on New Liverpool Deal and Determination to “Rise to the Challenge”

Joe Gomez’ decision to sign a new Liverpool deal was great news for the club, locking down the talented 25-year-old Englishman for the foreseeable future and ensuring the Reds would head into the 2022-23 season with the best centre half depth in the Premier League.

Still, as good as that news was for the club, some wondered how much sense it made for Gomez personally given he’s currently fourth in the pecking order and could reasonably expect to start for most other top sides. Gomez, though, says he wanted to embrace the challenge.

“I can understand why people would have thought I’d be considering moving,” Gomez told The Liverpool Echo. “It’s apparent from my age now and based on my opportunities in the past, there was definitely still a decision for me to make.

“I guess you could see it at as a crossroads. But speaking to the club, I knew it was an important decision for me. Fundamentally, the opportunity that I have here and the platform and the chance to be at this club is one that is hard to walk away from. Essentially, it was me accepting the fact I have got to take on the challenge.”

In essence, the choice was between staying at one of the consensus best clubs not just in England but all of Europe and fighting for minutes or heading somewhere minutes might be easier to come by but chances for silverware would be diminished.

Liverpool right now are at the top of football’s pecking order, fighting with the likes of Manchester City in England, Real Madrid in Spain, and Bayern Munich in Germany to be the very best club in the world. They head into the 2022-23 season clear of every other side.

“Once I got my head around what I wanted to do, my signing is me understanding the challenge and wanting to rise to it,” Gomez added. “I do feel this is probably the best collective group of centre-backs around.”