Liverpool's New Era: Right-Wing Dilemmas and Squad Uncertainty
Less than a month to go. Liverpool are in the United States under new head coach Andoni Iraola, but every training session, every minute on those American pitches, is really about one thing: being ready when the Premier League kicks off.
The backdrop is brutal. Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate have all walked away for nothing at the end of last season, ripping out experience and identity in one sweep. Others could yet follow. Anfield is in transition, and the questions from supporters reflect that sense of unease as much as excitement.
Here’s where things stand.
Bajcetic at Right-Back? Not Any Time Soon
Ollie Fox wanted to know if there’s a world where Stefan Bajcetic becomes an option for Iraola at right-back.
Technically, yes. Practically, not really.
Bajcetic has played there for Liverpool, but you have to go back to September 2023 for that experiment, and it didn’t exactly scream “long-term solution”. He’s a midfielder by trade and by instinct.
Right now, his battle is far more basic: get fit, stay fit, and start playing regular football again. That may even mean another loan spell if minutes at Anfield look scarce. Only once he’s back and established does any positional reinvention even enter the conversation. A future as a Liverpool right-back is a distant prospect, not an imminent plan.
Replacing Salah: Expensive Targets and a Left-Field Threat
Emmanuel Ademu asked the question that hangs over the entire summer: what are Liverpool doing about the Salah position?
The short answer is: a lot of work, not much movement.
Liverpool were prepared to go big. £86 million was on the table for Yan Diomande, but RB Leipzig refused to sell at that price, and the player himself appears to have his heart set on Paris Saint-Germain.
PSG winger Bradley Barcola is on the Reds’ shortlist but comes with a price tag north of £100m. That’s elite, statement-signing money. The club have also run the rule over Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh, Said El Mala of Koln and Lille’s Matias Fernandez-Pardo, while an enquiry went in earlier in the window for Monaco’s Maghnes Akliouche.
The interesting detail? None of those players has moved yet this summer. Liverpool are clearly doing their homework, building options, testing the market. And there will be other names, the ones that don’t leak out, the ones analysts and scouts have been tracking for months.
Iraola has been clear: a new right-winger is imperative. Don’t be shocked if the final answer comes from a slightly unexpected angle. Liverpool have history with the left-field call.
Centre-Forward: Isak’s Load and the Backup Plan
Tom raised the issue that keeps coaches awake at night: what happens at centre-forward if Alexander Isak, the only recognised option, misses games with his usual minor injuries?
Liverpool want a right-winger, but that doesn’t rule out another forward if the right opportunity appears, especially with Hugo Ekitike facing a long-term lay-off and the club wary of overloading Isak.
If a new striker doesn’t arrive, the contingency plans are already on the whiteboard. Cody Gakpo could again be asked to step into the central role when required, as he has before. Florian Wirtz offers a different twist as a false nine, dropping deep, dragging defenders into awkward spaces. Federico Chiesa is another candidate who can operate centrally if needed.
None of them truly convinced there last season. That’s the issue. They’re solutions, but not perfect ones.
Behind them, the Academy stands ready. When fit, Jayden Danns would be ahead of Will Wright in the pecking order, a reminder that if the market doesn’t provide, the pathway from Kirkby to Anfield remains open.
Richard Hughes: One Window and Out?
Joe asked about Richard Hughes and whether Liverpool’s sporting director is heading for the exit once the window closes.
The expectation inside the game is growing: Hughes is likely to depart at the end of the summer, with Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal seen as his most probable next step.
What happens after that is less clear. Liverpool have rotated through sporting directors in recent years and may look internally again. Julian Ward, now technical director at Fenway Sports Group, is an obvious name, given his previous stint in the role.
For now, though, there is no indication that a successor is already lined up. That uncertainty hangs over a crucial period of squad building. The decisions taken in this window could outlast the man taking them.
Young Tourists in America: Who’s Really Close?
Thomas wanted to know which of the youngsters on the US tour might actually break through this season.
The group is split. Some have already tasted senior or loan football: James McConnell, Lewis Koumas, Calum Scanlon, Luke Chambers and Harvey Davies have all been out learning the hard way. Most of that group are likely to head back out on loan again to keep that development curve rising.
Then there are the fresh faces, the ones at the very start of the journey. Will Wright and Josh Sonni-Lambie fall into that bracket.
The name causing the most buzz is 16-year-old winger Josh Abe. His talent is obvious, his ceiling high, but Liverpool will be careful. More games in Premier League 2 with the under-21s and minutes in the UEFA Youth League for the U19s might serve him better than a rushed promotion.
In the short term, Wright and Kieran Morrison look the most likely to touch the first team. Morrison, 19, signed a new deal in the summer and already has two senior appearances to his name. Both could feature in the League Cup squad come September. New 18-year-old centre-back signing Ifeanyi Ndukwe should also get chances to impress on tour, a first audition in front of Iraola and his staff.
Right-Back and Djed Spence: A Complicated Picture
Scott asked if Liverpool might be interested in Djed Spence. On the surface, a dynamic right-back sounds like exactly what they need. The reality is more nuanced.
Iraola has nailed his colours to the mast: Conor Bradley is his first-choice right-back. The problem is timing. Bradley is still months away from returning, and Liverpool must navigate that gap without derailing their start to the season.
Jeremie Frimpong is next in line. Electric going forward, less convincing defensively, and he has had his share of injuries since arriving last summer. He is a weapon, but also a risk.
Last season, the club leaned on versatility. Joe Gomez, Curtis Jones, Dominik Szoboszlai and Wataru Endo all filled in at right-back. Gomez now looks needed at centre-back. Endo is not yet fully fit. Jones and Szoboszlai are midfielders first, emergency full-backs at best.
The ideal fix? Either a centre-back who can also operate at right-back, giving cover in two positions, or a specialist right-back on a season-long loan. Liverpool do not want to throw big money at a player they admit will not be a regular once Bradley returns. That said, Bradley’s patchy injury record as a professional is a factor that can’t be ignored.
This is where Spence falls down. He is neither a cheap loan nor a versatile centre-back/right-back hybrid. He would be expensive, and that alone makes him an awkward fit for Liverpool’s current strategy.
And there’s a final warning echoing around recruitment departments: never buy a player purely off a decent World Cup. Spence doesn’t tick the structural boxes Liverpool have drawn up for this window, and sentiment or short-term hype is not about to change that.
The clock is ticking. Iraola knows exactly what he wants from his squad. The question now is whether Liverpool can deliver the right profiles, at the right prices, in time to make this new era more than just a bold idea on paper.
