Liverpool's Full-Back Dilemma: The Case for Djed Spence
Liverpool’s summer transfer debate has been dominated by one question: who comes after Mohamed Salah? Yet while the spotlight lingers on the forward line, a quieter, more pragmatic discussion is unfolding behind the scenes — about full-backs, depth, and a Tottenham defender who suddenly looks like a very smart fit.
A World Cup that changed the conversation
Djed Spence was nowhere near Liverpool’s rumour mill six weeks ago. Not seriously. Not for people who watch the club closely.
Lewis Steele of the Daily Mail, speaking on Anfield Index’s Media Matters, admitted as much. Spence simply wasn’t on his radar as a realistic Anfield signing until this summer’s World Cup in North America, where the 25-year-old has muscled his way into the conversation with a string of standout displays for England.
“He’s done brilliantly at the World Cup. I thought he was England’s best player last night [vs Argentina in the semi-finals],” Steele said, underlining just how sharply perceptions have shifted.
Spence’s tournament form has done more than just restore his reputation. It has forced clubs to reassess his profile entirely. Inter Milan are currently viewed as favourites for his signature, with Tottenham prepared to sanction a sale, but Liverpool and Newcastle have been namechecked as being in the mix by TEAMtalk’s Graeme Bailey.
Liverpool’s full-back dilemma
Strip away the noise about Salah’s successor and Liverpool’s squad still has some obvious structural gaps. Full-back is one of them.
On the left, Milos Kerkez needs genuine competition. Kostas Tsimikas has returned from his loan spell at Roma and will be given a chance to impress in pre-season as Andoni Iraola runs the rule over his options before the window closes on September 1. Even so, there is a sense that Liverpool are one injury away from being uncomfortably exposed on either flank.
That’s where Spence becomes interesting.
He can operate on both sides of the defence, a versatility Steele believes is precisely what Liverpool’s squad lacks.
“It does make a lot of sense. He can play on the right and the left, which is exactly what Liverpool need. I think they’re a left back short. I think they’re a right back short,” he explained.
In an Iraola system built on intensity, aggressive pressing, and full-backs asked to cover huge ground, a two-footed defender comfortable on either flank isn’t a luxury. It’s almost a tactical necessity.
Sense over certainty
For all the logic, there is an important caveat: there is no concrete indication yet that Liverpool are actually moving for Spence.
Steele made that point clearly.
“I’ve not heard anything really to suggest that Liverpool are going to make a move for him,” he said, drawing a firm line between what makes football sense and what is genuinely in motion.
And that’s the tension around this story. On paper, Spence fits. On grass, in this World Cup, he has proved he can deliver at the highest level. In the market, though, Liverpool are still silent.
Even so, Steele can see exactly why the club might decide to act, especially after that semi-final performance against Argentina.
“It would make an awful lot of sense if they were to step it up. I haven’t had anything to suggest they will just yet,” he added.
The logic is there. The movement is not.
The price of flexibility
Tottenham’s stance is straightforward: Spence is available, but not on the cheap.
Spurs are understood to be looking for somewhere between £30m and £40m, a figure understandably inflated by his performances for England in North America. For a player who could arrive at Anfield initially as cover for Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, that fee gives Liverpool something to think about.
Is £30–40m too much for a rotational full-back? Or is it the going rate for a 25-year-old international defender who can play both sides and has just shown he can excel on the biggest stage?
That’s the calculation Liverpool’s recruitment team will be wrestling with if they decide to turn admiration into action.
Other fires burning
Spence is not the only name on the Liverpool agenda. Steele has also lifted the lid on the club’s pursuit of Bradley Barcola, suggesting that saga is poised to become the “story of the summer”, with multiple sources feeding into an increasingly complex chase.
What is clear is that Liverpool’s window will not include one particular Spurs-related twist: Cody Gakpo is going nowhere. Any idea of a deal involving the Dutchman has been firmly shut down.
So the picture is this: a squad that needs full-backs, a manager whose system demands them, a World Cup star available for the right price, and a club yet to show its hand.
If Liverpool decide that Spence is the answer, it will not be because of a whim or a headline. It will be because, in a summer of big narratives and bigger fees, a defender who can play right and left simply makes too much football sense to ignore.
