Joe Gomez officially sole player to see entire Jurgen Klopp reign

Liverpool's 'life saver' Joe Gomez is officially the sole player to see the entirety of Jurgen Klopp's reign at Anfield. The defender has had a rollercoaster ride.

Jurgen Klopp announced on Friday that he will be stepping down as manager of Liverpool at the end of the season. The German has seen nearly nine years in charge, making him comfortably the longest-serving manager in the Premier League.

He's also Liverpool's longest-serving manager since Bob Paisley. It's been an incredible spell in charge, with the Reds climbing from an underperforming side to being the best in the world.

And one player will end the season having seen it all. Joe Gomez is the sole survivor of the team Klopp inherited, with James Milner and Jordan Henderson both having left in the summer.

Other than Gomez, every other player in the first-team squad was handed their Liverpool debut by Klopp. The English defender received his from Brendan Rodgers, after arriving in the summer of 2015 from Charlton Athletic.

Gomez has since seen it all. He almost immediately suffered an awful knee injury, ruling him out for around a year. He then climbed into the first-team setup again, first as a squad player as Liverpool won the Champions League and then as a regular starting centre-back in the 2020 title-winning side.

Another awful knee injury followed but Gomez has once again fought back to play a key role in a successful team. He's been Liverpool's 'life saver' this season, says Klopp, thanks to his ability to cover every defensive role.

Injuries to Andy Robertson, Kostas Tsimikas, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joel Matip have asked Gomez to play as a first-choice left-back, right-back and centre-back across the campaign so far. The fact he's able to do that to a high level has seen him earn the highest praise of his career so far.

Of course, the one thing Gomez hasn't done is score a goal. He hasn't got any in his professional career, despite playing well over 200 games.

And as Liverpool chase four trophies this season, perhaps there's no more fitting sign-off than a key Gomez goal.