Report: Liverpool Opens New Contract Talks With Joe Gomez

Liverpool have reportedly opened contract negotiations with talented young defender Joe Gomez.

Liverpool have reportedly opened contract negotiations with talented young defender Joe Gomez, with a potential new deal considered to be a 'reward' from the club as a result of the 21-year-old's impressive continued development.

Injury free since the start of the season, Gomez has started eight of Liverpool's nine Premier League games and has replaced Dejan Lovren as the first choice partner to Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the Reds' much improved back line.

A report from The Guardian notes that talks with Gomez's representatives have begun, albeit still at an early stage. Paul Joyce of The Times has also spoken via Twitter about the negotiations taking place, again making clear that it is still early in the process.

With Gomez still having four years left to run on his current contract, both sources are keen to stress that these fresh talks are intended to reward the player for his progress.

After overcoming terrible injury problems during his first two seasons at Liverpool, Gomez was cruelly forced to miss the Champions League final in Kyiv and the World Cup with England.

The player himself recently admitted that his eagerness to keep playing through the pain when he picked up an ankle injury in March was to blame. He ultimately needed surgery as a result and it ended his season prematurely, although he was sure to learn from his mistake.

"You have got to listen to your body. That was a marker for me to take it easy and learn," he said last month.

"It just wasn't meant to be. I had a long period where I was beating myself up. I was replaying it over in my mind. I kept thinking I should have done something to stop things going the way they did. But it's done now. I'm over it. Hindsight is a beautiful thing."