Joe Gomez has been at Anfield longer than anyone else in the Liverpool dressing room and he’s been speaking about his relationship with two Dutchmen, one a current teammate and one now playing his football elsewhere.
Speaking with liverpoolfc.com, our No.2 was asked about Virgil van Dijk and said: “Aside from the football, he’s just a good person. Gini [Wijnaldum] was the [introduction], because they were both Dutch and I was close with Gini as well so it was just naturally formed.
“We’d speak, the three of us, meet up and stuff. Then when Gini left we just grew closer. Good guy.
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“And obviously I’ve learned a lot from him, off the pitch and as people. It’s nice to have someone like that you can lean upon.”
It’s interesting to hear how close our defender was with Gini Wijnaldum in the 18 months they were at the club together, before we signed Virgil van Dijk from Southampton in the 2018 January window.
The midfielder who is now plying his trade with Jordan Henderson at Al-Ettifaq under the stewardship of Steven Gerrard, left the Reds two years ago and it’s clear that a tight trio has turned into a formidable duo.
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With both central defenders experiencing terrible injuries in the same campaign, no doubt this provided them with an opportunity to grow even closer.
It’s clear that the England international is now one of the more experienced members of the dressing room and his bond with our captain shows how trusted he is by other senior members of the squad.