Real Madrid are interested in signing Liverpool defender Joe Gomez this summer, according to reports
According to Diario Gol, Real Madrid are planning a revamp of their squad this summer after struggling in recent weeks. They state that Barcelona’s success in the Champions League coupled with the fact that the Catalans have managed to overtake Real in the La Liga have led to the club deciding to make wholesale changes to the squad.
It is also very likely that Pepe will leave for China at the end of the season and with Sergio Ramos turning 31 at the end of this month, Zinedine Zidane has begun searching for defensive options with a view to bolstering his squad this summer.
Diario Gol claim that the Frenchman has a ‘weakness’ for Liverpool’s 19-year old defender Joe Gomez and that the club has identified the England U21 international as a potential candidate for a summer transfer.
Gomez joined Liverpool from Charlton Athletic back in 2015 in a deal worth £3.5 million. A well-rounded defender who can play in a number of positions across the back line; Gomez is a composed, ball-playing centre back who is pacy, powerful and also contributes to attacking moves.
The Englishman’s promising start to his Liverpool career was cruelly interrupted by a cruciate ligament injury only months after signing for the Reds. The defender missed a total of 52 matches and only made his first start since the injury in January this year.
Real Madrid will face a very difficult time should they try to sign the youngster this summer, however. Gomez was only handed a new contract in January which ties him down to the club until 2022 so Liverpool will be under no pressure to sell him.
Given his age and his potential, the Reds will also likely reject any bids for the Englishman but, given Real’s financial strength, Los Blancos will be able to pay over the odds for a defender that is very highly rated in England.
Gomez himself may not want to move to Madrid at this stage of his career either. At 19, he still has a lot to learn and an environment like Anfield – where young players are given that chance – might be the perfect place to nurture his talent.
One has only to look at how Martin Odegaard’s transfer panned out to see the risks of joining a club like Real at a young age and despite Zinedine Zidane handing his younger players some game time this season, Gomez would be much better served staying at Anfield.
It seems highly unlikely that this transfer will happen this summer and Real would be much better off trying to land some of their other targets – such as Paris-Saint Germain’s Marquinhos who has also been linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
