Eleven years ago, a lachrymose Joe Gomez “felt like it was the end of the world” as he fell into his mom Linda’s lap after a failed trial with Charlton’s academy. She calmly wiped his face, lifted his chin and made a bold prediction: “Don’t worry son, you’ll be playing in the Premier League one day.”



The Liverpool defender, who had been involved in the pre-academy setup at The Valley, was turned away from the Under-9s and initially didn’t make the cut for the next age group until a late change of mind from the coaching staff. There were question marks over his running technique on account of flat-footedness, but Charlton quickly realized they had a young player that was developing rapidly in terms of speed and physicality, who was “very coachable” and possessed real game intelligence.



At 13, Gomez made his debut for the Under-18s and he was a regular in their oldest age groups by 15. Despite a wealth...