'Mr Dependable' helping to salvage Liverpool's title bid

Joe Gomez's stunning resurgence has been crucial to Liverpool keeping their head above water in this season's title race - and this doesn’t look set to change as the club braces itself for an intense title climax.

- WILL CASTLE

A player who had been straddling the club’s fringes for four years – perennially linked with a transfer away – Gomez has turned from an injury-prone liability to Jurgen Klopp’s ever-available utility man. Filling in and excelling across the Reds’ back line as injuries mounted, the 26-year-old’s dependability hasn’t gone unnoticed – earning a first England call-up since 2020 for a pair of friendlies in late March.

And as the Premier League title race prepares to enter its final stretch, Gomez looks set to remain a regular fixture in Liverpool’s side after the club suffered yet another untimely fitness blow. Andy Robertson was forced off with an ankle injury in Scotland’s 1-0 defeat to Northern Ireland on Tuesday, sparking fears that the left-back could be staring down the barrel of another lengthy spell on the sidelines.

The Reds have already felt the wrath an international break can bring when it comes to their star Scotsman. They spent three months without Robertson this season after he suffered a dislocated shoulder while on Scotland duty in October. It was during this period that Gomez first began to return to prominence. Assuming a role he hadn’t played since his firstever Liverpool game against Stoke in 2015, the Englishman began to consistently impose himself on games down the left flank.

As well as acting as a source of stability at the back, he demonstrated attacking prowess never seen before – the player is notorious for never having scored a goal in his near decadelong professional career.