Liverpool may already have eyes on another right-back signing as Bradley and Frimpong fail to spark - opinion
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Liverpool are facing a real problem at right-back this season after watching Trent Alexander-Arnold leave for Real Madrid.Alexander-Arnold had been a fixture in the Reds’ starting XI virtually since his breakthrough as a teenager in 2017.Liverpool have attempted to replace the Scouser’s creativity in the team by spending big on attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz. He may not be the best defensively, but the whole package is – and always has been – one of the best around.With the creative onus on Wirtz, Liverpool bought his former Bayer Leverkusen teammate, Jeremie Frimpong, to help fill the wider void left by Alexander-Arnold alongside former back-up Conor Bradley.Almost two months into the season, and this simply has not worked.
In fact, Liverpool have looked most complete at right-back this term when Dominik Szoboszlai has dropped back from midfield. But the Liverpool academy graduate is injury-prone and has not stepped up at all this season.READ MORE: Liverpool put in call to sign ‘very strong’ Barcelona defender but were swiftly rejectedAs for Frimpong, it may simply be that the Dutchman needs a run of games in the team.
What we’ve seen so far, however, has done little to assuage the notion that he is simply not a natural full-back.Alarm bells should already be ringing for Arne Slot and the Liverpool recruitment team, and in our opinion there is no harm in continuing to assess what else is out there.Liverpool were linked with Feyenoord’s Givairo Read towards the end of last season, and the 19-year-old looks like the kind of player who could return to the radar.Though still a teenager, Read has begun the campaign as Feyenoord’s starting right-back. It would obviously be another big step up to Liverpool, but as a former manager at De Kuip, it is highly likely Slot is well aware of the youngster’s progress.The curious case of Jeremie FrimpongWhen Bradley was substituted off against Chelsea on Saturday, the natural substitution for Slot was to bring on Frimpong in his place.However, the Liverpool head coach totally ignored his countryman, instead shifting Szoboszlai out of his natural midfield position.SeasonAppearancesGoalsAssists2023/241002024/2533372025/26901Givairo Read at Feyenoord While the decision may have been in part fitness related, it has fed into the notion that Frimpong was simply the wrong choice for Liverpool this summer.The 24-year-old has not impressed at all at full-back, and has hardly been better in a more advanced position either.There is still plenty of time for Frimpong to prove his worth to Liverpool and nail down a place in the team.