Arne Slot has seen "new things" from Joe Gomez in recent weeks and has praised the centre-back's work ethic amid suggestions he could leave Liverpool.
Gomez has been tipped to leave Anfield after falling behind Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konata and Jarell Quansah in the pecking order in the heart of defence.
He made 32 Premier League appearances throughout Jurgen Klopp's final season in charge in 2023-24, yet 15 of those came from the bench and he was often fielded at full-back when the Reds endured injury problems.
Gomez was left out by Slot as his reign began with a 2-0 win at Ipswich Town last week, having been linked with a move to Aston Villa or Newcastle United.
However, speaking ahead of Sunday's clash with Brentford, Slot hinted Gomez could be involved and praised his approach to training.
"He's been in the right place for three weeks. He's worked really hard since he came back," the Dutchman told reporters.
"He didn't play a lot in the Euros, we had to manage his load, that's why he wasn't in the team last week.
"This week he had a good week in terms of load. He's one of the players I see new things from."
In Gomez's absence, Quansah partnered Van Dijk at Portman Road but was replaced by Konate at half-time, with Slot later explaining that change had been made in order to win more duels.
Liverpool won just 41.5% of duels in the first half as Ipswich produced an energetic display, with that figure creeping up to 54.5% after Konate replaced Quansah.
Asked how Quansah reacted to his withdrawal, Slot said: "In a way you would expect a player to react. I spoke to him immediately after the game.
"At the end of that conversation he asked if he could train on Sunday. So he should have done recovery, he wanted to train.
"Unfortunately, I think on Tuesday, he picked up a bit of an injury, so he couldn't train on Wednesday, we will see if he can train today.
"He reacted in a way that every player should react. I don't think there was that much in it, though.
"Maybe the language was a problem, what I said was that he did not lose every duel, but he lost one or two important ones, one of them just before half-time.
"From what's been said to me, it sounds like what I said was that he lost every duel."
Gen Sec Dennis Chung defends JFF’s decision to rehire Busby; labels media allegations as “witch hunt”
Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) General Secretary Dennis Chung has defended the decision to rehire Hubert Busby Jr as the senior Reggae Girlz Head coach, as he pointed out that the country’s governing football body conducted due diligence before moving forward.
Chung’s declaration is in response to an article published by British daily newspaper The Guardian, alleging that the JFF misrepresented Busby’s reinstatement, stating that he was cleared of sexual misconduct allegations by Fifa’s Ethics Committee.
He dismissed the article published on Friday and headlined “Jamaica FA falsely claims women’s team coach was cleared of alleged sexual misconduct” as a “witch hunt” and accused the outlet of distorting facts and overlooking critical details.
This, as the article cast doubt on Busby’s “clearance,” noting that Fifa’s Ethics Committee had closed the preliminary investigation due to a statute of limitations without formally exonerating him.
SportsMax.Tv obtained a copy of the correspondent from the Investigatory Chamber of Fifa's Ethics Committee stating that the investigation against Busby was closed based on information available. An email titled 'Fifa Clearance Letter' was also obtained, the content of which clarified that Busby is clear to seek employment.
Busby was reappointed Reggae Girlz Head coach earlier this year, after he was initially suspended by the JFF in 2021, when the allegation of sexual misconduct was brought against him by former player Malloree Enoch.
Enoch alleged that Busby made sexual advances towards her during his time in charge at the Vancouver Whitecaps women’s outfit between 2010 and 2011. Busby denied the allegations.
“Do you think that the JFF, which is the organisation that dismissed Busby when the allegation was made, wouldn’t have done our due diligence? The technical committee received information to say that the investigation has closed and there was nothing based on the information that they had; there was nothing to support what was alleged,” Chung told SportsMax.Tv.
“The letter had stated that Fifa closed the investigation based on the information available. They never referred to any statute of limitations, as the article said. In addition to that, there was an email that Busby forwarded from Fifa stating that he could share it with us for employment purposes,” he added.
SportsMax.Tv obtained a copy of the correspondent from the Investigatory Chamber of Fifa's Ethics Committee stating that the investigation against Busby was closed due to information available, and could be shared
Chung clarified that contrary to the statement that he declined multiple requests for interviews and comments, he only received one call from a Guardian journalist, whom he directed to Busby or his legal representatives.
“They said that they reached out to me multiple times; that is not true. They called me once, and I told them, just like any organisation would, that Busby is a staff member and I am not at liberty to discuss his situation or give out any information on him. I told them they should call Busby, as it is he they need to get that information from,” Chung shared.
Since the article surfaced, SportsMax.Tv has been reliably informed that Busby is in the process of filing a defamation lawsuit against someone in the UK. It is not clear if the individual is an employee at the British newspaper.
SportsMax.Tv obtained a copy of the correspondent from the Investigatory Chamber of Fifa's Ethics Committee stating that the investigation against Busby was closed due to information available, and could be shared
Chung also rubbished the claim in The Guardian article that several witnesses—including Enoch—were not interviewed by Fifa’s Ethics Committee.
“Does that make sense? If she is the one that made the allegations, do you think Fifa wouldn’t interview her? So what it is, it’s a witch hunt that they are on; it is almost as if they are saying he is still guilty even though the investigation is closed, and that is totally ridiculous,” Chung opined.
Finally, Chung said he is deeply disappointed by the article, which he believes unfairly targets Busby. He also expressed the view that the report adds unnecessary scrutiny to an issue that the JFF and Fifa have already addressed through established protocols.
“I don’t understand what it is about, but there is obviously something behind it. Because the letter never said the investigation was closed based on the statute of limitation, it said the investigation was closed based on the information that they had,” he noted.
“Not because an allegation is made means you’re going to hold it against a man for the rest of his life. Allegations are made against politicians all over, and they are still in positions of authority. You can’t because an allegation is made against a man; hold it against him, and there is nothing to prove that it happened,” Chung ended.
Wolves 2-2 Crystal Palace: Guehi leveller piles pressure on O’Neil
Wolves’ wait for a first win of the Premier League season continued as they were pegged back in an entertaining 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.
Trevoh Chalobah put Palace ahead on the hour mark, drilling into an unguarded net after Jorgen Strand Larsen inadvertently headed Will Hughes’ cross away from his own goalkeeper Jose Sa.
However, Chalobah’s missed interception allowed Matheus Cunha to tee up Larsen’s 67th-minute equaliser, then Wolves went ahead within five further minutes.
Joao Gomes stroked home following good work from substitute Goncalo Guedes but Wolves – and their under-fire head coach Gary O’Neil – were denied a vital win by Palace skipper Marc Guehi.
He was alive to convert at the back post after Daniel Munoz flicked on a corner, keeping Palace four points clear of Wolves in 17th, and the Eagles could have won it in stoppage time, only for Jean-Phillipe Mateta’s strike to be disallowed for Munoz’s foul on Sa.
O’Neil’s side remain 20th after Southampton recorded their first win of 2024-25 against Everton, ahead of a huge clash between the division’s bottom two clubs next week.
Data Debrief: Wolves’ wait goes on
After Southampton beat Everton at St Mary’s earlier on Saturday, Wolves remain one of just two winless sides in the Premier League, alongside Ipswich Town.
This is just the third time in their history that they have gone 10 games without a win at the start of a league campaign, after 1926-27 (10 matches) and 1983-84 (14).
O’Neil’s men are now winless in 13 league games dating back to last season, their second-longest run in the competition’s history, behind only a streak of 17 between February 2012 and August 2018.
At the end of a week in which Manchester United made Erik ten Hag the season’s first managerial casualty, O’Neil remains under severe pressure.
Third-place 'doesn't mean anything', says Forest boss Nuno
Nottingham Forest leapfrogged into third place in the Premier League after a 3-0 victory against West Ham United, but Nuno Espirito Santo believes “it doesn’t mean anything.”
Forest took the lead through in-form striker Chris Wood before Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ola Aina added two more following Edson Alvarez’s dismissal for a second yellow late in the first half.
It was a complete display for Nuno’s side, who have outperformed expectations so far this season, with this representing the first time Forest will end the day in the top three of the top-flight since 1998.
While the manager was proud of the achievement, he will not rest on his laurels this early in the season.
"It doesn't mean anything now. We have to keep going as it's a over long season ahead of us. Positive moment but we should keep going," Nuno told the press.
"I think all of us should be proud of the way we performed, we started the game well and controlled their threat while being positive going forward.
"The red card changed everything but the players understood not to be complacent. This is what football is about, fantastic moment for us and the fans."
Forest racked up an expected goals (xG) total of 2.08 while limiting West Ham to just 0.16 xG at the City Ground.
They had 19 shots, with six of those on target, leaving vice-captain Ryan Yates hungry for more by the final whistle.
"We were really getting into it at the end and we wanted more goals. Unfortunately mine didn't go in but we are delighted with today's work,” he told BBC 5 Live.
“[Nuno] can really implement the ideas. There are many things that have gone into why we were doing well. I think the recruitment has been fantastic. We have kept the core together and we are doing really well.”
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