“It’s a problem area” – Lewis Steele drops hint over potential Liverpool plan | OneFootball

Liverpool’s Right-Back Question Still Needs a Summer Answer

Liverpool’s transfer window may still be quiet, but the right-back issue remains one of the clearest squad questions facing Andoni Iraola. On Anfield Index, Trev Downey and Lewis Steele discussed the position, the links to Andrei Ratiu, the wider market and whether Liverpool are likely to move before the window closes.

Right-Back Remains Problem Area

Downey put the concern plainly, arguing that right-back is “the standout area” where Liverpool need recruitment. His reasoning was simple enough, Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley have had fitness concerns, while Jeremie Frimpong has not fully convinced as a traditional full-back in a Premier League back four.

Steele agreed with the general point, saying: “It’s a problem area” and that the players already there are “injury prone at best.” He added that some may be “not quite up to the level required”, while Frimpong’s first season “didn’t really fill me with too much confidence apart from a couple of games here and there.”

That is the key context. Liverpool do not merely need an extra name, they need certainty in a position that has become too fragile.

Ratiu Links Come With Doubts

Downey raised the name of Andrei Ratiu, noting the reported €25 million release clause at Rayo Vallecano and the idea that he could offer a more experienced, ready-made solution.

Steele was cautious. “I can’t say the name has really come up in any conversations I’ve had,” he said. He then added: “I can’t really say I’ve heard that Liverpool are in for him.”

The age profile also gave him pause. On Ratiu being 28, Steele said: “It doesn’t really seem a sort of Liverpool signing to me.” Even when Downey suggested Liverpool might make an exception for a “plug and play” option, Steele replied that it may make sense if the deal was cheap, but “it doesn’t really seem something Liverpool would normally do.”

Givairo Read Shows Market Is Moving

The discussion then shifted to Givairo Read after reports of Nottingham Forest making a move for the Feyenoord right-back. Downey noted that Read had previously been one of the names “floating around” in a wider basket of Liverpool-linked right-backs.

Photo: IMAGO

Steele agreed that other clubs being active showed the market was beginning to move. He also recalled that Read had been linked with Liverpool when Arne Slot first came in, although he wondered whether that was simply because former-club players are often linked whenever a manager moves.

More importantly, Steele referenced Liverpool’s previous interest in the position. “We know in January that Liverpool tried for Lutsharel Geertruida,” he said, adding that they had also tried for him the previous summer. “So we know they’ve been looking to bolster that position historically and now.”

Liverpool May Still Move Quietly

The most telling part of Steele’s answer was not a specific name. It was the wider indication that Liverpool have been looking, while keeping their cards close.

He said: “I don’t really see too many names out there that seem credible at the moment.” Then came the line that keeps the door open: “Liverpool are very good at keeping things quiet and something will come out of the woodwork soon, I’m sure.”

That feels like the most reasonable reading of the right-back situation. Ratiu may not fit the usual profile. Read may be more background noise than active pursuit. Geertruida shows there has been genuine long-term intent. The need, though, has not disappeared.

Liverpool can talk about internal solutions, but availability, role fit and reliability all remain live concerns. If Iraola wants balance, control and durability in his first season, right-back still looks like an area where Liverpool should act. The only question is whether the name arrives from the public rumour mill, or from the kind of quiet work Steele says the club are still capable of doing.