Liverpool have completed the £3.5million signing of England Under-19 international Joe Gomez, who has expressed his delight at joining the Premier League giants.
The Reds were widely linked with the defender last week, and they have now met the £3.5million release clause in his Charlton Athletic contract to lure him to Anfield. Gomez, who made 24 appearances in all competitions for the Addicks last season, has signed a four-year contract with the Merseyside club, and he cannot wait to get started with his new employers in the coming weeks.
“It’s a dream come true,” he told the official club website. “It’s a bit surreal and it hasn’t really hit me yet. But I’m buzzing and just excited to get started. It’s a great club, and one that I’ve always been following. 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.”
Gomez has been capped four times by England at Under-19 level, and he played every minute of the successful Under-17 side which won the European Championships last year. His arrival at Liverpool will likely result in the departure of Sebastian Coates, who has failed to impress since his arrival in 2011 and could now move to Sunderland after his loan spell on Wearside last term.
It has so far been a busy summer for Brendan Rodgers, who has now added four new players to his squad since the end of last season. James Milner has joined on a free transfer from Manchester City, as has Bolton Wanderers goalkeeper Adam Bogdan. And striker Danny Ings, who scored 11 league goals last campaign, has joined from Burnley for a fee yet to be determined.
