Liverpool have completed the club’s fourth signing of the summer as 18-year-old Joe Gomez pens a five-year contract after completing a move from Charlton Athletic.
With a fee reportedly in the vicinity of $5.5 million, Gomez is a versatile defender who can play across the entire back line, something he displayed during his 21 appearances for Charlton this past season, although he appears to favor either a left-sided center-back or a right-back spot.
“It’s a dream come true,” Gomez told Liverpool’s official website. “It’s a bit surreal and it hasn’t really hit me yet, but I’m buzzing and just excited to get started. The club has got great history and it’s a great club, and one that I’ve always been following from when I was young. The style of football and the top players here was somewhere that I wanted to go and get better and learn, and play good football. It was an easy decision.”
#LFC are delighted to announce the signing of England U19 international Joe Gomez from Charlton Athletic. pic.twitter.com/h9xZcVEguG
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) June 20, 2015
Delighted to be joining @LFC ... An amazing club with great players! A dream come true for me. Looking forward to the new challenge ⚽️
— Joe Gomez (@J_Gomez97) June 20, 2015
The youngster played every minute of the 2014 U-17 Euros that England won, finding himself in the UEFA team of the tournament. He has since made four appearances for the U-19 team that narrowly missed out on a U-19 Euro finals appearance.
While Gomez signed a three-year contract extension with Charlton last season, many are reporting that his fee triggered a release clause and his club had no choice but to sell. “I’ve been here since I was 10 years old and it’s been a great experience,” Gomez said. “[Charlton has] always looked after me and I will always be grateful.”
Gomez is the fourth signing of a busy summer for Liverpool, joining James Milner, Danny Ings and Adam Bogdan as new faces at Anfield. Brendan Rodgers has plenty of personnel decisions to make, with a host of players returning from loan spells too. Luis Alberto had his two-year loan at Malaga cancelled after one failed season, and Sebastian Coates could return from his loan spell at Sunderland if he doesn’t secure a permanent transfer.