Liverpool currently have two fringe players who were officially among the best youngsters in the world in 2017
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The Liverpool squad is looking incredibly strong after an impressive summer transfer window.
Having won the Premier League at a canter last season, the Reds already boasted one of the most stacked groups of players in Europe.
But after adding the likes of Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike to the team, Liverpool are all set for even further success in the years to come.
Wirtz in particular has been expected to make an impact right at the top of the game ever since his arrival as a first team player as a teenager.
The German was nominated for the European Golden Boy award – an accolade celebrating the best young players on the continent – in 2021 and 2023.
Rewind further all the way to 2017, though, and two members of the Liverpool squad were nominated before they were even teammates at Anfield.
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Liverpool last had nominees for the Golden Boy award in 2023, when Harvey Elliott and Stefan Bajcetic were on the shortlist of 25.
In 2017, there were also two Liverpool players up for the gong: Dominic Solanke and Joe Gomez.
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Gomez was a slightly strange addition given that he’d only played three times in 2016/17, while Solanke hadn’t played at all for Chelsea before joining Liverpool.
Federico Chiesa was a better candidate, however, with the then 20-year-old having scored four goals in 34 appearances for Fiorentina.
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Ultimately, though, neither Gomez nor Chiesa – or indeed Solanke – had any chance of winning, with the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele also on the shortlist.
Mbappe’s breakout season with Monaco saw him scoop the prize, while Gomez and Chiesa would go on to link up at Anfield seven years later.
Although they have both had big success in their own right, this is a reminder that the careers of Gomez and Chiesa have perhaps not quite fulfilled their potential yet.
Gomez is a two-time Premier League winner with Liverpool and has a Champions League winner’s medal to boot, while Chiesa was a big player in Italy’s European Championship success in 2021.
But both have been badly hampered by injuries.
As the 2025/26 season rolls on, the two players are seen as fringe members of Arne Slot’s Liverpool squad.
In fact, there is a real chance that neither stick around for the end of the season.
Chiesa has been left out of the Champions League squad, which does not feel encouraging for his Liverpool career, while Gomez almost left on deadline day.
There is a feeling that Liverpool could come back in for Marc Guehi in the winter window, which may free the No.
If he gets a good offer from Italy, you could not blame Chiesa for going either.
They may have once been on top, but eight years later, Gomez and Chiesa’s best days may be behind them.