When Andoni Iraola agreed to become the new manager of Liverpool Football Club, he inherited a supremely talented but ultimately unbalanced squad from Arne Slot. A season that saw midfielders playing as full-backs, supposed full-backs playing as wingers, and wingers playing as centre-forwards, unsurprisingly ended trophyless and, despite scraping Champions League qualification, cost the Dutchman his job.
Iraola's job now is to work through the different areas of his team and figure out a setup that not only gets the best out of the players at his disposal but, more importantly, plays in his image. The high-profile departures of Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson are the end of an era and certainly areas where the Spanish coach will need to reinforce. At least one winger and a covering left-back will certainly be on his shopping list.
But Iraola has another issue to deal with in his defensive line: right-back. The contentious departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid 12 months ago did not get the blessing of many supporters, but hopes were high that promising understudy Conor Bradley would fill the void left by Liverpool's former No.66. That could still come to pass but the Northern Irishman has been out of action since the beginning of January with a serious knee injury.
Liverpool also have Jeremie Frimpong, who was signed when Alexander-Arnold departed, but he has often looked more effective playing higher up the pitch. The question is, does Iraola have enough resources at right-back to avoid a dip into the transfer market or does a new face need to be brought into the dressing room? Our ECHO Liverpool FC writers share their own thoughts.
Mark Jones
It might be quicker to list the positions that Liverpool don't need to strengthen in this summer, such is the surgery that is needed on the squad after that bruising campaign. Right-back is certainly somewhere that needs addressing though, with the revolving door policy in the role last season not really doing anyone any favours and ultimately ending up as one of the factors that cost Arne Slot his job.
Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong are both very good players on their day, and both are good enough to hold down that position if they are available, but that obviously cannot be relied upon, especially so in the case of Bradley. So do you sign a third right-back to cover for your other two? Yes, kind of.
Liverpool also have issues at centre-back, and I'd be bringing in the type of player who can also do a job there in order to provide better cover across the back four. You know the type, Arsenal have about five of them. A more available Joe Gomez is basically what I'm driving at. Get that player in, play him at right-back whenever needed and keep the path open for Bradley and Frimpong, both of whom are good enough to play for the Reds whenever they are available to do so.
Richard Garnett
Iraola's predicament at right-back is a difficult one. When Liverpool signed both Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez as full-backs last summer I was pretty pleased, but as it has turned out neither has impressed me, making me wonder what better options there are out there. That said, it could just take playing under a different manager to get the best out of these players.
Whilst the situation at left-back can wait for another day, here we are solely looking at right-back and it is a case of how long Liverpool's new manager is prepared to wait to find the right solutions from within his current squad. Conor Bradley would be most people's first choice, myself included. In fact, with greater consistency and better injury luck, I still see Bradley as an emerging leader and potential future captain of the club. But here lies the problem. The 22-year-old still doesn't have a return date from his knee injury, so at this point, there is nothing to say that he will be ready to go when the new Premier League season gets underway.
If his medical issue is a protracted one like Hugo Ekitike's then Iraola needs an alternative and he may have to bring someone in from the outside. That will, of course, depend on how highly he rates Jeremie Frimpong and whether the Dutchman can perform more effectively for the Reds in a new system than he did last season under Slot.
If that doesn't work for the new Liverpool boss, however, then it is an extra player on the summer shopping list. Denzel Dumfries was a reported target when Slot was still in charge, but the Inter Milan full-back is now destined to join Real Madrid instead. Dumfries is 30 and doesn't suit the usual FSG age profile, but if it's purely for cover, then Nottingham Forest have an experienced option in the form of Ola Aina, who expertly kept Luis Diaz quiet at Anfield a couple of seasons ago. I've previously written about how Forest have also got Neco Williams excelling, despite playing most of the season at left-back. Could he be exactly the type of versatile option that Iraola needs? I certainly wouldn't rule out an Anfield reunion for the Welshman.
Newcastle's Tino Livramento is another option that could potentially be worth considering, but if all of my alternatives sound a bit obvious, bear in mind that these players are experienced and have plenty of top-flight pedigree, something that Iraola is going to need in both the Premier League and Champions League next season. Ultimately, I think it will come down to how long Bradley is expected to be out of action as to whether Iraola makes a new right-back one of his rebuild priorities.
Morgan King
Well, right-back certainly wouldn't have been top of my list of priorities, but I'm not Richard Hughes. It does sound like Liverpool will be looking to strengthen in that area after Slot was left throwing players at the position like it was going out of fashion. There is plenty of sense in this, provided the Reds are covered in other areas. Far more obvious a gaping wound for me is centre-back; having lost Ibrahima Konate, Liverpool arguably need a new first-choice option in that department or at the very least another body to take the pressure off the two young guys and Joe Gomez, whose body just can't be trusted to last a whole season, sadly.
If you buy a right-back, though, it does at least take some of the pressure off Gomez's ailing knees - which will turn 30 by the end of next season along with their owner - and hopefully give Liverpool a more reliable option than the ones we had last season. I really like Frimpong, for the record. It's easily forgotten how well he started last season, but after the third or fourth hamstring injury (I think we all lost count) he just didn't look sure of himself at all and was getting caught out defensively way too much while not offering enough going the other direction.
Signing him for under £30m was a bargain given his reputation, and I see no reason he can't play a role next season. Iraola likes his full-backs to be fearless dribbling forward and have lots of pace to burn to support his wingers on the overlap and underlap, and Frimpong can certainly provide that. Bradley is similar, but much, much better defensively for my money. Like Frimpong, he's capable of getting into the box into goalscoring positions and is pretty creative when in full flight, as he shows for Northern Ireland.
In an ideal world, Bradley would be the long-term first choice, but even before his serious knee injury I was starting to get concerned about his ability to stay fit when playing twice a week. So here we are, looking for a new right-back once again. I quite like Juanlu Sanchez at Sevilla, and I think Ivory Coast right-back Guela Doue could be a shrewd signing having bagged two goals and seven assists at Strasbourg last season. There have been murmurings of Everton interest in the 23-year-old, so it'd be a fun signing just for the needle alone - never mind the off chance it convinces his brother Desire to sign in a year or two!
If we're looking more for a stop gap, there is Julian Ryerson. The Dortmund wing-back set up 18 goals last season. The idea of a Yan Diomande/Ryerson right side is mouth-watering, and he'd likely be among the cheaper options given he's turning 29 in November and only has two years left on his deal.
