Will Joe Gomez be an important figure for Liverpool next season? Still only 29 years old, he has been at the club for such a long time that he was signed by Brendan Rodgers.
So far, he has made 274 appearances for the Reds, famously yet to score a senior goal. During his 11-year career at Anfield, he has never really been first-choice defender although he can play various positions he only made 21 Premier League appearances last season, of which only seven were starts.
So, what role will he play under new head coach Andoni Iraola? Well, having not been called up by England for over two years, Gomez is one of the senior players back at AXA Training Centre for the first week of pre-season. After only a few days working with Iraola, Gomez was clearly impressed.
"It's obviously massively impressive what he did at Bournemouth and how he got them to perform. I think we're all looking forward to it and we're all excited to have him."
Speaking to the official website, Gomez also added that the mood among the players is very high, noting that this is a "combination of a new gaffer and having such a good break". Ahead of the defender's 12th season at the club, he is embracing being one of the senior figures in the changing room.
"I guess it is one you kind of grow into – it's not like an instant thing... it is just something that over the last season or two I've got more used to it. Until the likes of Virgil and Alisson and so on are back with us, I'm probably one of the older ones here... in terms of understanding the club, I'm pretty well tuned. "
Given the somewhat limited options at Iraola's disposal, expect the England international to rack up plenty of minutes during Liverpool's US-tour.
The Reds face Sunderland in Nashville on Saturday, followed by clashes with Wrexham in New York City and then Leeds United at Soldier Field in Chicago.
Nevertheless, what about when the serious action begins in August though? Well, Gomez can fill in at right-back, where Conor Bradley is currently sidelined, while Jeremie Frimpong was not trusted to play in that position by Arne Slot; it remains to be seen if Iraola agrees.
At centre-back, new recruit Jérémy Jacquet is forecast to be Virgil van Dijk's partner but, with Giovanni Leoni recovering from a long-term knee injury, for now, Gomez is next in line. Thus, unless plenty of defenders are signed between now and 1 September, expect Gomez to feature prominently.
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