Liverpool look to have an impending problem at right-back amid reports Neco Williams is looking to leave Anfield this summer.
The Reds don’t have the most depth at right-back, and if reports are to be believed, they don’t plan on signing a replacement for Williams, with The Athletic claiming that the Merseyside outfit have the utmost faith in Joe Gomez to do a job at right-back.
To be fair to Liverpool, they do have a player in their squad who can fill in at right-back, but his name isn’t Joe Gomez.
Indeed, while Gomez has a fair bit of experience playing as a right-back, appearing there 57 times for in his career, he isn’t a great fit for the Reds’ system, assisting just three goals in those 57 appearances, failing to score a single goal.
Meanwhile, Fabinho has played as a right-back 100 times in his career, and he seems to be a much better fit for the Reds’ attacking style, assisting nine goals and scoring a further nine in those 100 outings.
Any Liverpool fan would tell you that Fabinho is no Trent Alexander-Arnold, and we’re not going to argue that he’s a perfect fit, but he’s certainly a better option than Gomez in that spot – he has more experience and a greater impact when he has played there.
Factor in Gomez’s injury issues and the fact that when he is fit he’s needed at centre-back and it should be a no-brainer for Klopp.
In our view, the pecking order at right-back for Liverpool next season should see Fabinho second-in-command behind Alexander-Arnold rather than Gomez.
Of course, this is only a last-resort solution in the case of Alexander-Arnold going down with an injury, but if that does happen, Jurgen Klopp may be better off looking towards Fabinho rather than Gomez as a makeshift right-back if Williams departs.
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