Is Liverpool defender Joe Gomez good enough for Real Madrid?
Liverpool defender Joe Gomez has emerged as a shock target for Spanish giants Real Madrid.
The England international's season has been hampered by injuries, but he is likely to feature in Wednesday night's Carabao Cup tie against Leicester.
And The Daily Mail report that Real are monitoring his Anfield situation as they look to strengthen their defence in the summer.
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Gomez's Liverpool season so far
Gomez hasn't started a Premier League match this season with Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate favoured to partner mainstay Virgil van Dijk in the centre of defence.
Van Dijk himself stated last week that he expects Gomez and Konate to form the future defensive partnership at Liverpool.
But Gomez has only made Jurgen Klopp's bench 13 times this season and only featured three times as a substitute.
He did captain the side in the Carabao Cup win over Norwich but may be frustrated with his league game time with a World Cup fast approaching.
Madrid are looking to rebuild their backline and have been linked with out-of-contract Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger as well as Villarreal's Pau Torres and Jules Kounde of Sevilla.
But they are keeping an eye on the Gomez situation at Liverpool and, should he impress in whatever game time he gets between now and the summer, Los Blancos could be willing to test Klopp's resolve on the player.
Last week the German manager stated he would be patient with 24-year-old Gomez.
Is Gomez good enough for Real?
It has been claimed in the past that Klopp is just being overly cautious with Joe Gomez and his return from injury.
And sources within Anfield suggest there is 'zero chance' of him being allowed to leave in January.
But it would appear in reality, Gomez finds himself currently fourth in the pecking order of defenders at Liverpool.
After Liverpool crashed out of the Champions League to Madrid's rivals Atletico Madrid in March 2020, it was Gomez who shouldered plenty of the blame from the Liverpool fans for his display.
Gomez at fault for that goal
— Niall Davis (@LFC_Davis) March 11, 2020
Poor defending from Gomez and Henderson on Athletico’s second goal. Gave him too much time and space. Allowed him to turn onto his stronger foot and pull the shot off. Not good enough.
— Enam Anfield (@EnamAnfield) March 11, 2020
But Gomez is athletic, tall at 6ft 2in, and has pace that would suit Real Madrid who still seek to fill the void left by Raphael Varane's move to Manchester United and Sergio Ramos' transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.
