Liverpool given answers to right-back transfer question as two players pose problem
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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 JonesIt 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? 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.
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. 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 Iroala makes a new right-back one of his rebuild priorities.Morgan KingWell, right-back certainly wouldn't have been top of my list of priorities, but I'm not Richard Hughes.
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. 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.