Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that Joe Gomez will be fighting for a first-team place in Liverpool's coming season after a stellar start to his career on Merseyside.
Gomez was picked up for just £3.5 million this summer as a relative unknown, having only made his debut with Charlton Athletic in the Championship last August.
Initially it was thought he would be loaned out this season in order to ensure he received valuable game time, but the 18-year-old has been involved in both of Liverpool's pre-season friendlies and his stellar performances have caught the eye.
He was one of the stand-out players in the Reds' 2-1 win over Brisbane Roar at the Suncorp Stadium, despite starting at left-back - a position he had not played in before Friday's clash.
Nevertheless, the England U19 international's displays have convinced Rodgers that he has the ability to fight for a place in the first-team despite plenty of competition.
Rodgers hails Gomez' pre-season impact
"A big positive was [the performance of] young Joe Gomez," said Rodgers.
"I have seen him at centre-half and at right-back but I wanted to see him at left-back and I thought he was outstanding."
Gomez replaced injured left-back Alberto Moreno, who is expected to come back into contention for Liverpool's next friendly against Adelaide United, but can also play in numerous other positions.
And Rodgers, speaking after the win in Brisbane insisted he has "already seen enough" to persuade him to allow Gomez to stay at the club this season.
Explaining the thinking behind his decision, he added: "With young players I bring them in and judge them over pre-season. Seeing him [Gomez] close at hand and his personality, he'll be staying. He will get games."
Liverpool boss sees no need to dip in the market for another defender
Asked about his side's squad depth at the back, Rodgers confirmed that Moreno had only returned to training on Monday after an injury had kept him out and insisted that there will be no need for extra defensive additions throughout the summer.
"We're fine at centre half" he said. "We've got the two boys who started [Martin Skrtel and Mamadou Sakho] and then [Dejan] Lovren and [Kolo] Toure.
"Gomez can play in there too, so we are fine in that area. He's played a lot of his career at Charlton in the middle.
"He has got all the tools to play across the back four and he is a big talent."
