Liverpool Targets Andrei Rațiu for Right-Back Rebuild

Liverpool’s reshaping of their defence is set to continue with an opening bid for Rayo Vallecano right-back Andrei Rațiu being prepared for the summer window.

Having already sanctioned a move for Victor Munoz from Osasuna, Andoni Iraola is ready to raid La Liga again as he looks to harden a back line that creaked badly last season. The next target is clear: a battle-hardened, undervalued full-back who can live with the demands of Anfield and the Premier League.

Rațiu in the frame

Liverpool already have Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley listed as their specialist right-backs. On paper, the position is stocked. On the pitch, it never felt that way.

Rațiu, 28, has emerged as the name at the top of the shortlist. Highly regarded in Spain but still operating under the wider European radar, he has racked up 102 appearances for Rayo Vallecano since arriving three years ago and is widely seen as one of La Liga’s most underrated defenders.

Reports from SportsBoom indicate that, while Frimpong is still expected to remain first-choice next season, Iraola wants a genuine, high-level challenger for that starting berth. Rațiu is viewed as a player capable of stepping straight into Premier League intensity, not simply padding out the squad.

What that means for academy graduate Bradley is unclear. The 20-year-old has already shown he belongs at senior level, but a move for Rațiu would sharpen the competition and potentially squeeze his minutes in a season when Liverpool cannot afford another makeshift solution at the back.

International pedigree, European scars

Rațiu is no late bloomer without a résumé. He has 38 caps for Romania and has previously been named Romanian Footballer of the Year, recognition of his influence at both club and international level.

He also carries recent European experience. The defender played a central role in Rayo Vallecano’s run to the UEFA Conference League final earlier this year, a campaign that ended in heartbreak against Crystal Palace. Those nights, and that defeat, have shaped a player used to walking out into hostile atmospheres with something on the line.

Iraola is said to see him as outstanding value in a market where proven full-backs are at a premium. Vallecano, though, know exactly what they have.

Tough negotiators in Madrid

The Spanish club are understood to be seeking around £25 million for Rațiu, and they are in no rush to fold. He signed a new long-term contract in November 2025, tying him to Vallecano for another four years, which puts the La Liga side in a strong position to demand full value.

Liverpool, for their part, are confident they can find a way through. The proposed structure is expected to lean heavily on performance-related add-ons, a package designed to tempt Vallecano without Liverpool overcommitting on the guaranteed fee.

If the numbers line up, Rațiu would walk into a squad that has been crying out for stability on the right side of defence.

Fixing last season’s fault line

The urgency is rooted in the chaos of last year. Liverpool never truly recovered at right-back after losing Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid on a free at the end of his contract. Arne Slot inherited a problem position and then watched injuries rip away his remaining specialists, with both Frimpong and Bradley sidelined at key stages.

The response was improvisation. Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai were both pushed into an auxiliary right-back role, a tactical compromise that robbed Liverpool of two central midfielders and left the team unbalanced. The season unravelled quickly from there.

Little wonder Iraola has made right-back one of his first priorities at Anfield. He does not want to spend another year plugging gaps with playmakers.

Jacquet and Leoni close in on returns

Rațiu would not be the only defensive reinforcement arriving on Merseyside. Liverpool are set to confirm another summer signing next week when Jeremy Jacquet completes his £55 million switch from Rennes.

The French centre-back agreed his move on deadline day of the winter window, with all parties deciding he would finish the season in Ligue 1 before crossing the Channel. A serious shoulder injury shortly after the transfer was announced threatened to complicate that plan, but his rehabilitation is said to be progressing well. The expectation is that he will be ready for initial pre-season testing early next month.

There is more positive news at the heart of defence. Nineteen-year-old Giovanni Leoni, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on his debut against Southampton in the Carabao Cup last September, is also understood to be on track for the start of pre-season.

If Rațiu follows Jacquet and Leoni through the door, Iraola’s first Liverpool squad will report back to Melwood with a very different look — and far fewer excuses in a position that cost them so much.