Four players Liverpool could turn to at right-back | OneFootball

Jeremie Frimpong sidelined as Liverpool juggle right back options under Arne Slot

Liverpool’s packed winter schedule has been complicated by another injury, with Jeremie Frimpong ruled out for what Arne Slot described as “a few weeks” after picking up a groin problem in the Champions League win over Qarabag. For a side already short of specialist right backs, it has handed the Premier League champions a tactical puzzle at a delicate point of the season.

Slot offered a typically measured update ahead of the Newcastle United clash, saying, “Jeremie will definitely not be in the squad tomorrow. He is out for a few weeks but not as bad as we thought, so something positive from something not so positive.”

There was some better news in defence, with Ibrahima Konate back in contention following a period of compassionate leave. As Slot confirmed, “Ibou trained with us yesterday, will train with us today and will be in the squad tomorrow. Joe will not be available but that doesn’t have to take much longer.”

Even so, with Frimpong injured, Conor Bradley ruled out for the season and Joe Gomez still struggling with a hip issue, Liverpool are having to improvise. Wataru Endo filled in against Qarabag, but a Premier League test against Newcastle brings a different level of risk.

Arne Slot weighs up in house solutions

Slot praised Endo’s adaptability, while also acknowledging the limitations of asking a defensive midfielder to mirror the dynamism Frimpong normally provides. “I saw Wata making a lot of inside runs and once in a while making an outside run,” he said. “Is it different from Jeremie? Yeah, Wata doesn’t have the one-vs-one quality to take a player on like that. But Wata brings other smart things to our team, like his positioning between the lines. No matter who is playing behind Mo (Salah), we have to make sure he gets often enough in promising positions.”

Photo: IMAGO

That quote neatly sums up the challenge for Slot. Frimpong offers explosive width and direct running, something Liverpool’s attacking patterns are built around. Endo brings intelligence and positional sense, but not the same threat down the flank. Against Qarabag, that trade off was manageable. Against Newcastle, it becomes a far tougher call.

Midfielders filling the Frimpong void

If Endo feels like a short term patch, Dominik Szoboszlai has been Slot’s more trusted solution when Frimpong has been unavailable. The Hungarian started at right back earlier in the season and ticks many of the boxes the role demands, progression from deep, physical presence and the energy to get up and down the line.

The cost is felt elsewhere. Szoboszlai drives Liverpool’s pressing game from midfield and moving him wide leaves a hole in the centre. Curtis Jones offers a similar blend of control and technical quality and has filled in there before, including during the Merseyside derby last season. Yet both have looked like players learning on the job when targeted by opponents, with the 3-2 loss to Fulham and the 4-1 defeat to PSV serving as cautionary tales.

Photo: IMAGO

Depth questions and January dilemma

Calvin Ramsay remains the most orthodox option, but his lack of football and Slot’s own assessment have kept him down the pecking order. As the manager put it, “It’s a big chance that he’s having now to come to the first team. He’s with us, but I still think I have better options to play.”

That leaves Liverpool relying on adaptability rather than recruitment, at least for now. Asked if January business could change that, Slot was diplomatic. “The answer is that if we think there’s a player who can help us and we think signing him is possible, then we would do so.”

For now, the champions must navigate life without Jeremie Frimpong, trusting Arne Slot’s tactical flexibility to keep Liverpool competitive until their flying full back returns.