Liverpool's Full-Back Dilemma: The Case for Djed Spence

Liverpool’s summer has been framed by one question: who follows Mohamed Salah? But while the spotlight lingers on the forward line, a quieter, more structural issue is taking shape in the background – full-back.

Full-back rebuild lurking behind Salah saga

Andoni Iraola walks into a squad that, on paper, looks stacked in certain areas. Yet once you strip it back, Liverpool are at least one, and probably two, full-backs short if they want to navigate a long season with the intensity their new head coach demands.

The left side is already a concern. Milos Kerkez is the clear first choice, but the drop-off behind him is obvious. Kostas Tsimikas is back from his loan at Roma and will be assessed in pre-season, yet his future is hardly nailed down. On the right, the picture isn’t much clearer, especially with tactical tweaks expected under Iraola.

That is the backdrop to the latest name being floated in Liverpool circles: Djed Spence.

Spence: from afterthought to World Cup standout

On July 14, TEAMtalk’s Graeme Bailey reported that Liverpool and Newcastle are among the clubs in the frame for the Tottenham and England defender, with Spurs ready to sanction a sale. Inter Milan are currently viewed as favourites, and crucially, there is no suggestion Liverpool have actually moved. No bids, no talks, no concrete pursuit.

But the idea refuses to go away for one simple reason: football logic.

Lewis Steele of the Daily Mail, speaking on Anfield Index’s Media Matters, admitted Spence wasn’t even on his radar as a realistic Liverpool option until this summer. The World Cup changed that. Spence has been one of England’s standout performers in North America, and his semi-final display against Argentina forced a reassessment.

“If you’d asked me this six weeks ago, I probably would have laughed you out of town because I didn’t really rate Djed Spence too highly at all,” Steele said. That’s a pretty stark pivot. Then came the key line: “He’s done brilliantly at the World Cup. I thought he was England’s best player last night [vs Argentina in the semi-finals].”

One game doesn’t make a transfer case. A tournament can. And Spence has used this one to show exactly why a club like Liverpool might be tempted.

A profile that fits Iraola’s demands

What intrigues Steele – and will not have gone unnoticed at Liverpool – is Spence’s versatility. The 25-year-old can operate on both flanks, a rare and valuable trait in a squad that currently looks light on either side.

“It does make a lot of sense,” Steele said. “He can play on the right and the left, which is exactly what Liverpool need. I think they’re a left back short. I think they’re a right back short.”

That dual capability matters. Under Iraola, full-backs will be asked to cover huge spaces, press high, and adapt on the fly. Having someone who can step in for Kerkez on the left and offer cover – or even competition – for Jeremie Frimpong on the right would ease the strain on the squad and give Liverpool more tactical flexibility.

This isn’t about signing a headline act. It’s about building a unit that can survive injuries, suspensions and the inevitable dips in form.

Interest that makes sense – but no move yet

For all the tactical fit, Steele is clear on one crucial point: he has heard nothing to suggest Liverpool are actually preparing a bid.

“I’ve not heard anything really to suggest that Liverpool are going to make a move for him,” he admitted. The logic is there. The noise is not.

Still, that logic is hard to ignore after Spence’s performance against Argentina. “It would make an awful lot of sense if they were to step it up,” Steele added. “I haven’t had anything to suggest they will just yet.”

So this sits in that awkward transfer space: a move that would be coherent, even smart, without any hard evidence that it is close.

The price of flexibility

Tottenham’s stance is straightforward. Spurs are prepared to sell and are understood to be looking for a fee in the region of £30–40 million. His World Cup form for the Three Lions has only strengthened that position.

For Liverpool, that figure is the real question. Do you commit that level of money to a player who, at least initially, might be seen as cover for Kerkez and Frimpong rather than an undisputed starter? Is £30–40m too heavy for a squad piece, or exactly what a modern elite club has to pay to maintain depth across four competitions?

This is where the debate sharpens. The football case is clear. The financial one is less so.

A busy summer beyond Spence

Spence is just one thread in a wider Liverpool window that is already threatening to sprawl. Steele has also outlined the club’s pursuit of Bradley Barcola, a saga he believes could become the “story of the summer” as multiple sources feed into a complex chase for attacking reinforcements.

What won’t be happening, despite occasional whispers, is any sort of Cody Gakpo switch between Liverpool and Spurs. His future has been clarified, and that particular avenue is closed off.

So the picture is this: a new coach with an aggressive style, a squad that needs full-backs as urgently as it needs a Salah successor, and a World Cup star at Spurs whose profile fits the gaps at Anfield almost perfectly.

Whether Liverpool decide that perfect fit is worth £30–40m – and worth nudging ahead of Inter in the queue – may tell us plenty about how seriously they intend to arm Iraola for the season ahead.