Strengths and Weaknesses of Liverpool Teenage Hope Joe Gomez

Reports on Tuesday suggested Liverpool are to loan out defender Andre Wisdom for a third season in a row, with Norwich City the latest to take the Yorkshireman on a temporary deal.

The Guardian's Andy Hunter reports that Liverpool will receive a £1.25 million loan fee for the deal, providing an immediate return on the player who signed a new four-year deal at the club earlier this summer.

Manager Brendan Rodgers' willingness to loan out Wisdom indicates the Englishman hasn't done enough in pre-season to impress the boss to keep him around for the season, and another young full-back has.

In the Reds' opening pre-season fixture in Thailand a fortnight ago, Rodgers selected Wisdom and new signing Joe Gomez as the two full-backs in the first half. It appears Gomez has been the one to impress, with the 18-year-old starting the two games in Australia at left-back.

It may only be pre-season, but Gomez put in a performance described as "mature" by B/R's Jack Lusby after the game in Brisbane. Lusby wrote:

"

Surging forward with consistency, Gomez provided a regular outlet for left-sided attacker Lallana, and his overlapping runs gave Roar right-back James Donachie a lot of work to do in the opening 45 minutes; the 18-year-old, playing only his second game for the Reds, was full of confidence as he troubled his senior counterpart.

"

The £3.5 million signing from Charlton Athletic impressed both going forward and defensively. It prompted Rodgers to rule out a loan move for the youngster, saying the following post-match, per the Daily Mail: "He's staying. I've seen enough in this period; you judge young players, I always bring them in and over pre-season have a good idea of whether we're going to keep them or not. Seeing him, in particular close at hand and his personality—he'll be staying, he'll get games."

With Gomez set to be at Anfield for the forthcoming season, then, we take a look at the youngster's strengths and weaknesses.

Strength: Versatility

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Gomez is naturally a centre-back, the position he has played for England's youth sides and on seven occasions for Charlton last season, per WhoScored.com.

He also played both full-back positions for the Championship side, with seven appearances on the right and two on the left.

He's clearly a very versatile player who can perform anywhere across the back four.

It could be that he follows a similar path to Jamie Carragher, who occupied both full-back positions at Anfield before making centre-back his own.

Such versatility will mean Gomez will have more opportunities, and it looks like Rodgers is happy to have cover for both full-back positions this season. With Europa League commitments, Gomez should be well involved.

Weakness: Lack of Experience

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Aged just 18, and having made only 24 professional appearances to date, Gomez obviously lacks match experience.

Of course, sometimes such inexperience, and therefore exuberance, can be a good thing, especially for attacking players. For defenders, though, who typically reach their prime years in their late 20s, it's experience of match situations that provide the know-how they need. 

"I’ve probably learned more this week than I have in a while," noted the player after his first week at Melwood, per LFCTour.

"Straight away, you can see the change in intensity—high tempo and you’ve always got to be focused. It’s teaching me little things. It’s a lot more technical. I’m learning a lot."

Gomez is eager to learn and appears to have the correct attitude to do so.

Strength: Athleticism

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"Athletic and tall, Gomez is 6’2", he’s also got pace to boot," wrote Sean Curtin of PunditArena.

The Londoner has all the physical attributes to be a top-class footballer. Big, strong and powerful, but also quick and athletic. This makes him extremely well suited to the Premier League—and a huge contrast to current Liverpool left-back Alberto Moreno, who has often looked too weak.

That could give Gomez an advantage over the Spaniard and perhaps even see him make the left-back spot his own at some stage this season.

Strength: Suitability

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Gomez appears very well suited to Liverpool and the club's style of play.

WhoScored ranked his strengths as: 

• Likes to dribble
• Likes to play short passes
• Does not dive into tackles

Those are good attributes for an attacking full-back within a back four—and very similar to fellow new recruit and Liverpool full-back Nathaniel Clyne.

To have a player who is physically capable defensively, but fast and athletic to attack, makes Gomez the ideal modern full-back.

Indeed, Gomez's height and aerial presence would be particularly beneficial for a team who conceded an alarming number of goals from set pieces last season.

It's early days for Gomez, but the signs are very promising.