Liverpool ace Joe Gomez was told to ditch the ‘muscly, beach boy’ look in order to break into team
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp believes young defender is reaping the benefits after following his instructions and downsizing
JURGEN KLOPP told Joe Gomez to ditch the "muscly, beach boy" look in order to break into Liverpool's first team.
Gomez impressed at right-back during the Reds' 3-0 friendly win over Hertha Berlin yesterday.
The 20-year-old recovered from a serious knee injury toward the end of last season but failed to make a single Premier League appearance.
Klopp believes Gomez was too big for his boots - literally - and reckons he is benefiting from downsizing.
He said: "Last night I had a long talk with him.
"When I came in I saw him for about 20 minutes playing in the Under-21s. Then he got the injury and I thought: 'Oh my God'.
"Everybody told me what a wonderful player he is. When he came back he got injured and then when he came back again he was heavy.
"He had a lot of muscle and you only need muscles like that if you're only going to the beach or whatever.
"We had to work on this and now he's back. He lost weight, he's really fit, he looks sharp. There are still things to improve.
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"His heading was really good, but he can improve - he needs to be a little more aggressive."
Klopp encouraged Gomez - a centre-back by trade - to keep working hard and put pressure on Nathaniel Clyne and Alexander-Arnold Trent at right-back.
He added: "The full-back position is unbelievably important for us now because Clyney [Nathaniel Clyne] has had no pre-season so far.
"Trent [Alexander-Arnold], as we all know, is a fantastic player, but also just 18 - offensively ready, but in defence he needs to improve a lot. We need these different options and it's good to have him back, absolutely."
