"I think he’d be a good choice" - Micah Richards wants Liverpool star to be picked in the England squad for the EUROs
Former Manchester City and England right-back Micah Richards has urged Gareth Southgate to name Liverpool defender Joe Gomez in the England squad for the European Championship 2024. After Jurgen Klopp urged the England manager to pick the versatile defender, Richards has echoed the Liverpool manager.
Richards has highlighted how crucial Gomez's versatility could prove to be if he is in the squad for the Euros as he can cover for any position in the backline. The former England full-back insisted that Gomez should be named in the squad especially with left-backs Ben Chilwell and Luke Shaw both struggling with injury problems. Richards said on The Rest is Football podcast, as quoted by Metro:
"I really enjoyed Gomez before he got injured. He had a bad injury and he took a while to get back to his rhythm with [Joel] Matip and [Ibrahima] Konate playing alongside [Virgil] Van Dijk. If you’re going to tournament football, you want people you can rely on. If you’ve got a player who can play in a variety of positions, it certainly does help. But he doesn’t really drop off in any of the different roles he’s chosen to do."
Richards added:
"We’re not blessed for centre-halves. Would I trust Joe Gomez? 100 per cent, I would definitely have him in the squad. I see him as a centre-half who can cover for full-back. We don’t know what’s happening with Luke Shaw’s injury, [Ben] Chilwell’s just coming back from injury. For England, I think he’d be a good choice."
Gomez is most natural at centre-back but has shown this season that he is equally adept at both right-back and left-back. Jurgen Klopp has heavily relied on Gomez's versatility to deal with the injury crisis this season even playing him as a defensive midfielder on some occasions.
Gomez, now 26, has won 11 caps for England but his last cap was back in October 2020. The Liverpool star looked destined for great things and was once the first-choice alongside Virgil van Dijk but injuries somewhat derailed his career.
The versatile defender has been relatively injury-free over the past couple of seasons and looks back on track to realize his potential. He has so far made 212 appearances for Liverpool and has become a fan-favorite at Anfield.
Pundit hails Liverpool youngster for keeping Erling Haaland silent
Former Middlesbrough midfielder turned television pundit Robbie Mustoe has hailed Liverpool youngster Jarell Quansah for his excellent showing against Manchester City. The 21-year-old paired up with Virgil van Dijk at the back in Ibrahima Konate's absence and kept Erling Haaland silent as the Reds drew 1-1 against the Cityzens.
Mustoe has claimed that Quansah has not received the credit he deserves like some of the other Liverpool youngsters. He said:
“Even during and after – and maybe we’re guilty of that – not a lot of talk about Jarell Quansah. A lot of talk about Erling Haaland not getting a kick in the game. And as you said, there were a couple of moments where van Dijk stood out, the one on one defending with Haaland."
The former Middlesbrough midfielder added:
"But Quansah, and I remember Jurgen Klopp, the reporter asking questions about how proud he is of the young players and he mentioned Conor Bradley and maybe Elliott and a couple of the others. And Klopp said, what about Quansah? Nobody talks about Quansah. And I think he is sneaky blooming good."
Quansah is enjoying a phenomenal breakthrough season and has looked solid whenever called upon by Jurgen Klopp. Labeled as 'Virgil 2.0', the ball-playing defender has made 23 senior appearances for Liverpool this season and has caught the eye with his composure.