Liverpool's Defensive Crisis: Iraola Faces Early Challenges

Andoni Iraola hasn’t even kicked a ball in the Premier League as Liverpool head coach and already he’s staring at a problem that has haunted his predecessors: an injury crisis at the back and a squad that looks one defender away from chaos.

Two weeks from the opening game of the 2026/27 season at Newcastle, Liverpool still feel half-built. Mohamed Salah’s replacement on the right wing has yet to walk through the door, with Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye still names on a recruitment board rather than on the teamsheet. Rio Ngumoha and Federico Chiesa can cover that flank, so Iraola has attacking options.

At center-back, he barely has a functioning unit.

Before word emerged of Ronald Araujo’s impending arrival, Liverpool were staring at the possibility of starting a new campaign with just one fit senior center-back. For a club that watched its title challenge implode under the weight of defensive injuries only a few years ago, the sense of déjà vu is unavoidable.

Joe Gomez is already ruled out. Giovanni Leoni, the great hope unearthed last season, has not yet returned to training as he continues to work back from an ACL injury. Jeremy Jacquet, who reported for preseason earlier than most, still hasn’t played a single minute this summer.

The Monaco friendly was supposed to be his springboard. Instead, doubts over his involvement grow by the day. If he misses the game at Anfield, the most optimistic scenario is a 45-minute run-out against Como next weekend. That would be his only serious preparation before a first taste of Premier League football at St. James’ Park.

It’s a brutal introduction for any defender. For one still learning the rhythms of English football, it borders on reckless.

So Iraola is left with a simple, if deeply fragile, plan: protect Virgil van Dijk and Araujo at all costs for the next fortnight and hope they can forge some kind of understanding in training. Van Dijk, the old general. Araujo, the new arrival expected to plug a gap that should have been addressed months ago.

Liverpool’s latest defensive crisis feels different to those that came before. Less unfortunate, more avoidable. Anyone glancing at the squad at the start of the summer could see the back line needed reinforcing. Araujo, as talented and combative as he is, carries the air of a late solution rather than a long-term strategy.

Even with the Uruguayan on board, Iraola is still one awkward landing or mistimed tackle away from having to improvise in the most unforgiving area of the pitch. And that is where the ghost of Arne Slot lingers.

Slot spent much of last season juggling center-backs after Leoni’s injury in September cut his options to three for the rest of the campaign. He didn’t blink. The Dutchman simply pointed to the midfield.

“Ryan (Gravenberch) and Wata (Endo) can play there,” he said, matter-of-fact. “So it is not like all of a sudden we don't have options in that position anymore.”

Endo’s ability to drop into the back line is well established. He has done it several times in his three years at the club, stepping in with the calm of a veteran. But he has only just returned to training after his own injury. Throwing him in at center-back away to Newcastle, with Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon buzzing around him, would be a huge demand.

If Van Dijk or Araujo suffer so much as a minor knock, the next man up is likely Gravenberch. He has stood there before, most notably in the 6-0 win over Qarabag in January, but that outing was hardly a stress test. Coasting through a European home rout is one thing. Holding a high line at St. James’ Park on opening weekend is another.

And beyond them? There isn’t much.

That’s the uncomfortable truth for Iraola. If he has to send out a back four featuring Gravenberch or Endo as an emergency center-back on day one, Liverpool’s planning will be laid bare. The optics would be awful for a club that prides itself on smart recruitment and meticulous squad building.

For now, everything hinges on the fitness of two men. Van Dijk, still the standard-bearer. Araujo, arriving under pressure to be both solution and stop-gap.

No pressure, Ronald. Just stay fit.