Gomez is the perfect pick for Euros if Southgate wants some wriggle room
JOE GOMEZ has not been in an England squad since November 2020 and his last taste of international duty was not too sweet.
training at St George’s Park ahead of a friendly against the Republic of Ireland, Gomez suffered a serious knee injury, snapping a tendon as he passed the ball.
It was a freakish accident which kept him out for nine months after surgery and, by the time he was fit to play again for Liverpool, Gareth Southgate had forged the squad that made it to the final of the Euros against Italy, in 2021.
Breaking into the England team since then has been more difficult. Southgate remains loyal to those he came to trust during that campaign and at the World Cup in Qatar.
Defensive options are suddenly sparse, however, as he selects his final squad before the one he will take to Euro 2024 and injuries have given rise to the theory that it may be time to promote Jarrad Branthwaite from the Under 21s.
Branthwaite has excelled in a breakthrough season at Everton. He is physically imposing, swift and left- sided, which works in his favour as a direct replacement for the role recently occupied by Marc Guehi, Harry Maguire and tyrone Mings.
He has a strong case but Gomez, too, must come into Southgate’s thinking. the 26-year- old is playing regularly and performing well at the top of the Premier League where there is pressure and expectation to win trophies.
Liverpool embrace possession just as England will have to do at the Euros in Germany. the Reds play with risk under Jurgen Klopp, who expects his defenders to be capable on the ball and leaves them with huge areas to patrol. these qualities in Gomez prompted an enquiry from tottenham in January.
Beyond this, he is genuinely versatile, which helps Klopp flex style and shape without making changes from the bench. It has even greater value in a squad limited to 23 players, rather than 26, for the first time since the World Cup in Russia in 2018.
Gomez can provide cover anywhere in the back line, whether it consists of three or four. He is a centre half by trade and right- sided but has impressed at left back this Back in business: Gomez is in fine form for Liverpool
REUTERS season. It might allow wriggle room elsewhere if, for example, the manager wanted to include Ollie Watkins, Marcus Rashford and Ivan toney rather than choose two of them as cover for Harry Kane.
Southgate usually turns to Kieran trippier at left back when missing Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell, as he often is, but this season Gomez can claim to be in more consistent form than trippier. Just as he can claim to be playing more regularly than Maguire and to be more reliable in deep midfield, where he played at Nottingham Forest on Saturday, than Kalvin Phillips.
Versatility counted against players in the past but trends have shifted towards a Cruyffian adaptability, with defenders such as John Stones, Rico Lewis and trent Alexander-Arnold stepping into midfield.
Nobody wonders why Phil Foden has failed to make any one position his own. Foden can be influential playing off either flank, behind the centre forward or as a false nine.
Gomez has 11 England caps and one glance at the others to feature in the last of those, a 3-0 friendly win against Wales when Bukayo Saka made his debut, shows the extent to which Southgate has moved on and refashioned his team. Danny Ings and Harvey Barnes have not played since. Michael Keane, Conor Coady, Harry Winks and Ainsley Maitland-Niles have all drifted away from contention.
Gomez is one player who deserves another chance.