Liverpool boss Arne Slot has potentially dropped a huge hint about the future of Joe Gomez after leaving the defender out of his Reds squad for the opening game of their Premier League season.
Slot, who replaced Jurgen Klopp at Anfield earlier this summer, did not name Gomez in the Liverpool squad for the trip to Portman Road, with the Reds taking on Ipswich Town in their first game of the season.
The Dutchman selected Virgil van Dijk and Jarell Quansah as his starting centre-backs for the opening day, with Ibrahima Konate named on the bench – leaving Gomez out entirely.
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The defender was reportedly set to be part of a swap deal between Liverpool and Newcastle United earlier this summer, in a move that would have seen Anthony Gordon return to Merseyside, albeit in red, rather than the blue of Everton.
However, the Magpies managed to alleviate their PSR concerns by offloading Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson to Brighton and Nottingham Forest respectively.
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And while the swap deal never materialised, Gomez was said to be keen on making the move to Tyneside as it would allow him to play his preferred position of centre-half, rather than operate as a utility man across the backline like he did last term covering for injuries to Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Slot is said to be open to letting Gomez go, with the new Liverpool unable to guarantee him regular first-team football this season.
With Quansah having featured heavily during pre-season, and both Konate and Gomez having returned late in pre-season due to featuring this summer at the European Championships in Germany, it looks as though the former has won the battle to partner Virgil van Dijk.
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The Times report that while there is no guarantee Gomez leaves this summer, the 27-year-old is considering his future at Anfield, with a number of clubs having shown interest in the defender.
Due to his ability to play multiple positions, Liverpool are not willing to lose Gomez on the cheap, and will demand a sizeable fee for Gomez.
However, should a move not materialise for the Reds star over the course of the next two weeks, Liverpool will look to reintegrate Gomez into their first team plans.
Slot and co are yet to have made a signing this summer, and there is every chance they might be keen for Gomez to leave to both free up space in their squad and bring in some transfer funds so they can attack the final two weeks.