Liverpool’s Summer Jigsaw: Right Wing, Right-Back Decisions

Less than a month to go. Liverpool are out in the United States, Andoni Iraola is putting his stamp on pre-season, and the clock is ticking towards the Premier League kick-off. The backdrop? A squad stripped of three long-serving pillars in Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konaté, all gone for nothing at the end of last season. Holes to fill, decisions to make, and a fanbase demanding answers.

Here’s where things stand.

Bajcetic at Right-Back? Not Any Time Soon

The idea comes up every summer: can a talented midfielder plug a gap somewhere else? This time it’s Stefan Bajcetic and right-back.

He has played there for Liverpool, but you have to go back to September 2023, and it didn’t exactly scream “long-term solution.” The reality for Bajcetic is more basic right now. He needs games, rhythm, and a clean bill of health. That might even mean another loan just to get him back into the grind of regular football.

Iraola’s immediate right-back plan won’t revolve around him. Not this season. Any talk of Bajcetic as a genuine option there is parked well down the road.

Life After Salah: Liverpool’s Search for a New Right Wing Star

You don’t casually replace Mohamed Salah. Liverpool know it, and their behaviour in the market underlines it.

They were ready to go big for Yan Diomande, with an £86m move on the table, but RB Leipzig refused to bite and the player is leaning towards Paris Saint-Germain. PSG’s own winger Bradley Barcola is on Liverpool’s shortlist, but his price sits north of £100m. That’s elite, game-changing money.

The scouting net has gone wide. Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh, Koln’s Said El Mala and Lille’s Matias Fernandez-Pardo have all been assessed. There has also been an enquiry over Monaco’s Maghnes Akliouche earlier in the window. None of those names has moved yet, which keeps the board in play for Liverpool if they choose to push.

Behind the scenes, the work is ongoing, and there will be other names under the radar. The club has form for a leftfield call when the obvious targets are blocked. What isn’t in doubt is the priority: Iraola has been clear that a new right-winger is essential, not a luxury.

Centre-Forward: Isak Needs Help

Up front, there’s another problem brewing. Alexander Isak is the only recognised centre-forward option, and he isn’t exactly an iron man. Minor injuries, missed games, and a long season ahead.

Liverpool want that new right-winger, but the long-term injury to Hugo Ekitike and the desire not to overload Isak opens the door for another attacking signing. If nobody arrives, the contingency plan starts to look familiar.

Cody Gakpo can again be asked to fill in through the middle. Florian Wirtz offers a different route as a false nine. Federico Chiesa is another who can operate centrally, though none of them truly convinced in that role last season. They are solutions, but not perfect ones.

Beyond that, the ladder points to the Academy. When fit, Jayden Danns is ahead of Will Wright in the pecking order and could be the next name pushed towards senior minutes if the injury list starts to bite.

Richard Hughes: One Window and Out?

Off the pitch, Liverpool’s sporting structure is shifting again. Richard Hughes, brought in as sporting director, is widely expected to leave once the summer window shuts. Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal is the most likely destination.

The question of succession is less clear. The club have cycled through several sporting directors in recent years and could look internally again. Julian Ward, now technical director for Fenway Sports Group, is an obvious name, but there is no indication yet that a replacement has been formally lined up or agreed.

So Hughes is working a window that may be his first and last at Anfield. The decisions he makes now will outlast his time in the job.

The Kids on Tour: Who’s Really Close?

The pre-season tour in America has a familiar subplot: a cluster of Academy players boarding the plane, each hoping this is the summer they stick.

Many have already had a taste of senior or loan football. James McConnell, Lewis Koumas, Calum Scanlon, Luke Chambers and Harvey Davies all fall into that category and are likely candidates for further loans once the tour ends. Their development path is clear: minutes elsewhere, then reassess.

The buzz name this time is Josh Abe. Just 16, highly rated, and already catching the eye. But Liverpool will likely protect his trajectory. More action in Premier League 2 with the under-21s, plus UEFA Youth League games with the U19s, looks the sensible route rather than throwing him into the deep end too soon.

If you’re looking for youngsters who could realistically feature this season, two stand out. Will Wright and Kieran Morrison. Both have a shot at making the League Cup squad in September, and Morrison, now 19, already has two senior appearances under his belt. New 18-year-old centre-back Ifeanyi Ndukwe will also have chances on tour to show Iraola he can be trusted if injuries hit at the back.

Djed Spence and the Right-Back Dilemma

Right-back is one of the most awkward puzzles on Iraola’s board.

Conor Bradley is the manager’s preferred option, but he is still months away from returning. Jeremie Frimpong sits next in line, electric going forward but less convincing defensively and with his own patchy fitness record since arriving last summer.

Last season, Liverpool survived the position by committee. Joe Gomez, Curtis Jones, Dominik Szoboszlai and Wataru Endo all filled in. Gomez, though, is needed in central defence. Endo isn’t fully fit. Jones and Szoboszlai are midfielders being asked to firefight.

The cleanest solution would be either a centre-back who can naturally cover at right-back, or a specialist right-back on a season-long loan. That way, Liverpool avoid splashing out on a player they openly admit won’t be first choice once Bradley is back. The caveat, of course, is Bradley’s own injury record, which is already a concern at just 23.

So where does Djed Spence fit into this? He doesn’t, really. He would be expensive, he doesn’t solve the versatility brief, and he isn’t an obvious short-term loan fix. On top of that, the old warning still applies: you don’t build a transfer case on the back of one eye-catching World Cup.

Liverpool’s summer is a balancing act between needs, budgets and timing. The right calls now could define Iraola’s first season. The wrong ones might leave those gaps from Salah, Robertson and Konaté lingering long after August.