Jurgen Klopp has hailed Joe Gomez‘s return to the England squad as “absolutely deserved,” following confirmation of his call-up by Gareth Southgate.
The 26-year-old earned the most recent of his 11 international caps when he featured for the Three Lions against Wales in a friendly back in October 2020.
A combination of injury problems and fluctuating form has seen Gomez left out ever since, but a return to form across various positions for Liverpool this season has now been recognised.
Asked if his recent comments urging Southgate to reconsider might have had anything to do with it, Klopp replied: “I don’t think my comments had a lot of influence – wasn’t necessary, really!
“Joey deserves it, absolutely. The season he has played so far is absolutely exceptional. We would not be where we are without Joey. He’s played so many different positions.
“Really happy for him. I saw on his face, he was very happy about it. So good news.
“And now, let’s play the game, he can go there, and hopefully he comes back healthy and we can play the rest of the season.”
England are set to play Brazil and Belgium in friendlies during the March international break.
In a press conference held after the announcement of his squad for those two games, Southgate referenced Gomez’s versatility – having played left-back, right-back, centre-back and No. 6 this season – as key.
“Firstly, it’s great to see Joe playing regularly at Liverpool because it has obviously been a couple of years since he has done that,” the England manager told reporters.
“He is such a lovely boy. I have known him since the Under-17s when they won in Malta when he was at Charlton.
“So we have always had great faith in Joe and we love working with Joe. We’re delighted to see him back playing.
“He is versatile, he is in very good form at this moment in time, and we look forward to seeing him next week.”
Fan Comments