Liverpool Pursue Andrei Rațiu to Strengthen Right-Back Position

Liverpool’s search for stability on the right of their defence has turned towards Spain, with the club reportedly preparing an opening bid for Rayo Vallecano defender Andrei Rațiu in the upcoming summer window.

Andoni Iraola, already backed to bring in Victor Munoz from Osasuna, is ready to raid La Liga again as he reshapes a back line that buckled under strain last season. The priority is clear: fix right-back properly this time.

On paper, Liverpool are covered. Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley are the current options, and Frimpong is still expected to start next season as first-choice. Yet the club have now been strongly linked with Rațiu, a move that underlines how bruising last year’s defensive chaos proved to be.

Rațiu, 28, has quietly built a formidable reputation in Spain. One of the most underrated full-backs in La Liga, he has racked up 102 appearances for Vallecano since arriving three years ago, offering consistency and bite in a side that has had to fight for every point. Those who watch him regularly know exactly why his name is now on Premier League scouting lists.

According to SportsBoom, Iraola wants a genuine challenger to Frimpong rather than a token understudy, and he believes Rațiu has the tools to step straight into the intensity of English football. What that means for academy product Bradley is unclear. The Northern Ireland international has already shown he can operate at this level, but a third specialist right-back would inevitably reshape the pecking order.

What Liverpool would be getting is experience, not a project. Rațiu has 38 caps for Romania, has been named Romanian Footballer of the Year, and was central to Rayo Vallecano’s run to the UEFA Conference League final earlier this year, where they fell short against Crystal Palace. He has played big games, under pressure, and held his nerve.

Vallecano, though, are in no rush to sell. The Spanish club are understood to value the defender at around £25 million and are seen as being in a strong position to hold firm. Rațiu signed a new long-term deal in November 2025, tying him down for another four years, and that contract gives Vallecano real leverage.

Liverpool, for their part, are said to be confident they can still get a deal done. The expectation is that any proposal would be structured with significant add-ons, designed to tempt Vallecano without breaking Liverpool’s broader recruitment plan.

The push for Rațiu makes sense when set against the wreckage of last season at right-back. Losing Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid on a free left a gaping hole, and Arne Slot’s first campaign was undermined by injuries to both Frimpong and Bradley. When the specialists disappeared, the compromises began.

Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai were both shunted into emergency duty as auxiliary right-backs. Each did a job, but every minute they spent out wide stripped Liverpool’s midfield of its rhythm and balance. The season’s unraveling felt inevitable once those makeshift solutions became the norm rather than the exception.

No wonder Iraola has reportedly made that flank a core priority in his first summer at Anfield. He does not want to be forced into those kinds of trade-offs again.

Rațiu would not be the only defensive reinforcement. Liverpool are set to confirm another arrival next week when Jeremy Jacquet finally completes his £55 million switch to Merseyside. The French defender agreed his move from Rennes on the final day of the winter window, with all parties settling on a delayed arrival so he could finish the season in Ligue 1.

There was an early scare. Jacquet suffered a serious shoulder injury shortly after the transfer was announced, raising doubts over his readiness for pre-season. But The Athletic reports that his rehabilitation is on schedule and he is expected to be available for initial testing early next month.

He will not be alone in stepping back into the fold. Fellow centre-back Giovanni Leoni, just 19, is also understood to be on track for a return in time for pre-season. Leoni tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on his debut against Southampton in the Carabao Cup last September and has not played since, a brutal start to life at the club.

Put together, it paints a clear picture. Liverpool are rebuilding their defence with a mix of youth, experience and depth, determined not to be caught short again. If they can now prise Rațiu out of Vallecano, that right flank, once a problem area, could quickly become one of the most fiercely contested positions in the squad.