Joe Gomez set to sign new Liverpool contract amid Aston Villa interest  

Joe Gomez set to sign new Liverpool contract amid Aston Villa interest

Aston Villa are interested in signing Joe Gomez ahead of the summer season, but the Liverpool centre-back is expected to sign a new contract.

Gomez has been a bit-part player for the Reds this season, but he’s been crucial when filling in at centre-back or right-back.

The Englishman, who turned 25 on Monday, has made 21 appearances in all competitions, although only 11 of those have been as a starter since Joel Matip took his place.

With Ibrahima Konate favoured opposite Virgil van Dijk, Gomez’s recent appearances have been as a right-back understudy to Trent Alexander-Arnold, prompting speculation that he may leave in quest of regular first-team action.

Jordan Henderson and Joe Gomez (photo by Getty images)

Villa has been mentioned as a prospective suitor, but Midlands correspondent John Percy of the Telegraph thinks Gomez is more likely to stay at his current club.

“There is now a notion that the England international will sign a new contract at Anfield,” Percy wrote as he cycled through Villa’s targets.

However, it remained unclear whether he would agree to stay on Merseyside rather than seek an early termination of a contract that currently runs until 2024.

According to Percy’s sources, the ex-Charlton youngster now desires to stay with Liverpool, with the possibility of competing for a starting berth in the future.

Given that Gomez has been a part of Liverpool’s first-team structure since 2015, when he joined as an 18-year-old, it’s easy to mistake him for someone older.

He is, however, over six years younger than Van Dijk and Matip, both of whom will turn 31 later this year, and only two years older than Konate, who turns 23 this week.

Nat Phillips, seen as a promising young player, is two months older than Gomez, having turned 25 in March.

Gomez, who has shown no signs of slowing down despite four long-term injuries, has a chance to restore his starting role in the future under Jurgen Klopp.

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