Liverpool transfers assessed - right-backs who could solve Andoni Iraola's problem position

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Seven players lined up at right-back for Liverpool last season, just three of them natural to the position.In a season where the Reds were overran in midfield and threadbare at centre-back, unable to control games and chasing a Champions League place, Arne Slot was left with no other option than to shuffle his pack to cover the gaping hole left by injuries to his first-choice pair of Bradley and Frimpong.All the same, it would have come as little surprise if Richard Hughes and Liverpool's recruitment team had decided to make do, possibly signing another centre-back to ease the pressure on youngsters Giovanni Leoni and Jeremy Jacquet after the departure of Ibrahima Konate and simply leaning on the versatility of Gomez to cover for the patchy fitness records of Bradley and Frimpong.Nevertheless, well-placed journalists have consistently been briefed that the positions on the agenda for Liverpool this summer are wide attackers (note the plural), with The Athletic's James Pearce stating this week that "centre midfield and right-back are also positions that need to be addressed".Though the ECHO's own Paul Gorst wrote last week that he "suspect[s] the club will remain poised to act if they feel a more senior [central] defender is available at a reasonable price," the priority in the defensive department very much appears to be an out-and-out right-back for now, which starts to make a bit more sense in the light of the demands Andoni Iraola places on his full-backs.The profileLiverpool supporters should already have a fairly good idea of the traits Iraola likes to see in his full-backs after the Reds signed his first-choice left back from Bournemouth in 2025 - Milos Kerkez.Kerkez played a very different role under Slot to that which he played under Iraola when he made the Premier League Team of the Season, however, seeing virtually all of the attributes that made him stand out at Bournemouth reduce in his first season at Liverpool.Assists, expected assists, chances created, crosses, dribbles attempted, touches in the opposition box, winning possession in the final third - all were down in 2025/26 compared to the Hungarian's final season on the south coast the year before.Slot liked his full-backs to play deep and narrow, supporting build-up and not really getting involved in attacks until the final phase - if at all.Iraola is the opposite. Though Jimenez didn't manage any assists, or put in anywhere near as many crosses as Kerkez the previous season, he completed a dribble nearly three times as often per 90 as Kerkez did that year (1.51 compared to Kerkez's 0.59) - demonstrating that, if nothing else, Iraola wants his full-backs to attack.It's fair to say this should suit Frimpong, who completed 1.56 dribbles per 90 last season, better than Slot's football.

But the former Bayer Leverkusen man was defensively suspect and unable to lock down his side of the pitch last season, only completing 0.52 interceptions per 90 (less than half of Jimenez's 1.05) and fewer defensive contributions per 90 (2.60) than 99% of all other Premier League full-backs.If Liverpool are looking to upgrade - which it seems they are - it will be the defensive side of the game that needs improvement, not least because the Reds look likely to line up with a youngster at centre-back and a right-footer on the right wing.But that threat level and attacking drive is non-negotiable.Honourable mentionsI actually tipped Julian Ryerson as an option in our Liverpool FC writers' roundtable this week, after the Borussia Dortmund wing-back managed to rack up 18 assists in all competitions last season, but on closer inspection it's more apparent why Sky Germany's Florian Plettenberg dismissed the 28-year-old as an option back in January.Ryerson was the only player I profiled for this piece to win less than 40% of his duels last season - a concerning statistic when you consider the more intense nature of the Premier League and the lack of scope for improvement given Ryerson's age.Nevertheless, he was by far the most difficult player to leave out given his tremendous assist numbers.Tino Livramento would be an obvious choice, and would put a nice tick in the homegrown box. His 1.44 dribbles per 90 in the league last season - and his reduced opportunities for minutes after Porro's new contract and Andy Robertson's switch to Spurs - does make me wonder if he might have been a target for Bournemouth if Iraola had stayed there but, as likeable as he seems, I don't think he's quite at the level for the Reds.Sorry, Djed.The 10 candidatesThis time around, there were far less rumours to sift through in terms of existing targets - so this required getting a bit more creative.

Desire Doue's brother, Guela starts for the Ivory Coast and showed his class behind Yan Diomande against Ecuador on Monday (June 15).If Liverpool do land Diomande, having had their first bid worth €100m rejected on Thursday (June 18), it could make sense to develop that partnership further at club level and lean into Doue's solidity in build-up (87.1% pass completion is the highest here) to unleash Diomande for Liverpool.None of these players are bad - in fact, this is possibly the most even crop of players assessed in this series yet - but Mats Wieffer is noticeably the weakest among his peers in terms of crossing, completing just 0.14 crosses per 90 at a rate of 18.8% success.As a former midfielder, though, he is comfortable on the ball and still created 0.94 chances per 90 last season - the same as the much-fancied Kayode, who is five years his junior.Kayode's xA (expected assists - 0.08) and big chances created per 90 (0.11) are the lowest here, but 25% cross completion is respectable and offers signs of potential to improve, though two other Premier League options in Gusto and Williams currently offer more.PossessionThe other way in which Iraola's full-backs will be able to influence games offensively is in possession of the ball, specifically when carrying it up the pitch directly.Palestra stands out here. He gets through a lot more dribbles (2.04 successful per 90) and duels (7.24 won per 90) than anyone else here and he wins a whopping great proportion of those duels (59.6%).Despite his high dribbling numbers, Palestra is also dispossessed the second least (0.67 times per 90) of anyone here behind Gusto (0.64), which is striking considering how often he's taking people on.It's easy to see why Palestra is so fancied, and with that level of technicality you would expect he could add creativity with time - he's the youngest player on this whole list.If Liverpool feel the same, an approach will have to come soon - in the next few hours or days, really - and it will need to be another hijack, as Fabrizio Romano confirmed on Thursday (June 18) that Inter are expected to wrap up a deal for him soon.If Iraola fancies a similar profile, but Palestra is set on remaining in Italy, his compatriot Kayode has similar traits and has already proven his ability to produce those numbers in the Premier League.Kayode completed 1.52 dribbles per 90 last season at a comparable success rate of 51.4%.