Liverpool's Right-Back Gamble: A Misstep in Defense
Liverpool walked out of the summer window believing they had done sensible business. On paper, it looked tidy: two defenders in, some wages trimmed, the squad ostensibly balanced. Now, just a few weeks on, one brutal truth stands out.
They left themselves exposed at right-back.
Jeremy Jacquet arrived from Rennes. Ronald Araujo came in on loan from Barcelona. Both useful additions, both versatile. But neither was brought in as a specialist solution for what has become one of the most demanding and tactically crucial roles in Andoni Iraola’s side.
For a club chasing major trophies, that is a glaring blind spot.
Carragher’s Warning Shot
The unease around that decision has been growing, and Jamie Carragher has given it a sharp edge. Speaking on Stick to Football, the former Liverpool defender stripped away any sentiment around Conor Bradley’s injury.
“Conor Bradley got his chance and got a bad injury,” Carragher said. “My problem with it is, he's a good young player who's done really well, but if someone gets a bad injury, he's not that good that you don't replace him.
“You'd wait for Trent to come back and you'd wait for Andy Robertson to come back. Unfortunately I don't think we should be waiting for Conor Bradley to come back. You go and buy a right-back because Frimpong isn't one.
“When Conor Bradley comes back, he's then got to fight for his place and I think that's fair; but this thing of 'we've got to wait for Conor Bradley to come back' – no. We're Liverpool, one of the biggest clubs in the world.
“You can't wait for Conor Bradley. We've got to get him back and good luck to him, but they've made a massive mistake.”
Strip away the emotion and the core of his argument stands firm. Bradley is talented, energetic and brought real drive to the right flank when he broke through. But building a season around the recovery of a young full-back coming off a serious knee injury was always a roll of the dice.
Liverpool rolled it anyway.
Frimpong Left Carrying the Load
The reality of that gamble is now clear. With Calvin Ramsay sent out on loan and Bradley still working his way back from long-term damage, Jeremie Frimpong is the only senior natural right-back available.
He is an attacking force. Frimpong can surge forward, stretch teams, and add a different dimension in the final third. Yet his recent performances have not fully convinced defensively. In Iraola’s structure, that is not a minor flaw. The right-back has to provide width, recover at speed, and hold a disciplined line under pressure. Any weakness in that chain is quickly exposed.
The pressure on Frimpong is already heavy. It could easily become suffocating.
There is another layer to the risk. Frimpong’s own fitness record last season was not spotless. Liverpool are not just leaning on one specialist; they are leaning on one specialist whose availability has already shown cracks. One injury, one suspension, and Liverpool are back in the territory that caused so many problems in 2025/26: midfielders shunted into unfamiliar roles, makeshift back fours, and a defensive structure that never quite settles.
That is not how title contenders operate.
Cover Is Not the Same as a Plan
This is where the frustration bites hardest. Liverpool did spend in defence. They did act. But they skirted around the most obvious weak point rather than driving straight at it.
Araujo offers flexibility. He can fill in across the back line, step into different roles, plug gaps. Useful, yes. But “cover” is not the same as having a specialist ready to absorb the physical and tactical demands of a full Premier League campaign in that position.
At right-back, Liverpool have chosen to live on the edge.
Serious injuries rarely follow the neat timelines offered in medical updates. A player can be “back” in terms of availability, yet still be weeks away from true sharpness. Touch, timing, confidence in the knee – all of that takes matches. Liverpool cannot realistically expect Bradley to step straight in and instantly hit his previous level after such a long lay-off.
So Iraola is left hoping for two things: that Frimpong stays fit, and that he grows quickly into the defensive demands of the role. Both can happen. Neither is guaranteed.
The logic of the summer was that Bradley’s return would ease the strain and restore balance. That might yet prove true. But waiting on that moment, instead of installing another top-level right-back in the squad, always looked like a calculated risk.
Right now, it doesn’t look calculated. It looks like a mistake Liverpool may be forced to live with deep into this season.
