Key Liverpool defender is staying and it's not Virgil van Dijk

Liverpool's squad is a bit broken in some places at the moment.

On paper, it feels like they should have one of the best teams in the Premier League but, they're currently fourth in the table.

Obviously, there have been some games where their true colours have shone through but, more often than not, they've been left behind by their title rivals.

Manchester City and Arsenal are the two teams who have beaten them in the England's top flight with their third defeat coming against Fenerbahce in the Champions League a couple of weeks ago.

These aren't the performance levels that fans were expecting from their team but, they seem to be the ones they're being handed.

So, for things to get better, decisions need to be made about the future of Liverpool's first-team squad and now, it finally feels like the Reds have been given their answer about the future of one star.

This summer, the improvement of Liverpool's defence was one of their main concerns.

Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley let Arne Slot's men down on more than one occasion last term which resulted in Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones being used there instead.

And, while they did well, both midfielders performed a lot better when used in their natural positions.

Slot still got them to qualify for the Champions League by the skin of his teeth but, in reality, fans thought that he'd do a lot more after his £450 million spend in the transfer window.

Evidently, that wasn't the case and even though they added a couple of new faces to their back line this summer, it's unclear whether that'll be enough or not.

But, thanks to a fresh update from James Pearce, Liverpool's plans for Joe Gomez have been made clear.

"Centre-back not a priority for Liverpool so highly unlikely they will invest heavily in that area either in Jan or next summer. Jacquet has made a huge impact and big hopes for fellow young CBs Leoni, Ndukwe and Ndiaye," he wrote.

Over the last few years, Gomez's role within Liverpool's starting XI has diminished.

The centre-back is now the Reds' longest-serving player and, without him, they'd not be where they are today.

Before his ACL injury a few years ago, he was on course to becoming one of England's best centre-backs.

However, his injury unfortunately stunted his progress and caused him to become a bench warmer.

Since then, he's adapted his game quite a bit and he can now play in any position across the back four.

This versatility is probably one of the main things that have kept him around because, his injury list has just been getting longer and longer each year.

Obviously, if a new centre-back isn't going to be coming in, Gomez needs to stay but, with his contract set to expire in June, the Reds must quickly decide how long they want to keep him on for.

If Gomez can stay fit, he could become a regular feature among Liverpool's ranks again but, if he doesn't, it would be pointless handing him a new deal.

Here's hoping that the Reds won't live to regret this decision.