Liverpool’s Summer Transfer Dilemmas: Right Wing, Right-Back, and Director Changes

Less than a month to go. Liverpool are in the United States, running through Andoni Iraola’s first pre-season as head coach, and the countdown to the Premier League opener has started to tick loudly.

The backdrop is brutal. Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate have all gone, and they’ve gone for nothing at the end of their deals. Senior pillars of the dressing room have walked away, leaving gaps not just in the team sheet but in the squad’s identity. More departures may yet follow. No wonder the questions from supporters are piling up.

Here is where things really stand.

Bajcetic at Right-Back? Not Any Time Soon

One of the more imaginative suggestions came around Stefan Bajcetic and whether Iraola might see him as an option at right-back.

He has done it before. Briefly. His outing there for Liverpool dates back to September 2023 and it did not convince anyone that this was his future.

Right now, the conversation around Bajcetic is much simpler: get fit, stay fit, and play football. That might even mean another loan spell just to rack up minutes and rebuild rhythm after his injury problems. The idea of him emerging as a genuine right-back solution for Liverpool is, at this stage, distant. His battle is for availability, not a position change.

Life After Salah: A New Right-Winger Is Non‑Negotiable

Replacing Salah is not a tweak. It’s a rebuild of an entire side of the attack, and Liverpool know it.

They were prepared to go big. An £86m move for Yan Diomande was on the table, but RB Leipzig refused to budge and the player himself appears to be leaning towards Paris Saint-Germain. That door has, for now, slammed shut.

The shortlist remains strong but expensive. PSG winger Bradley Barcola is admired, yet valued at north of £100m. Brighton’s Yanbuka Minteh has been tracked, as have Said El Mala of Koln and Lille’s Matias Fernandez-Pardo. Monaco’s Maghnes Akliouche has also been the subject of an enquiry earlier in the window.

What links all of them? None has moved yet. Liverpool are watching, working, and keeping their options open. Scouts are out, names are being run and rerun through the data and the live-eye test. A surprise, leftfield signing would not shock anyone inside the club.

One thing isn’t up for debate: Iraola has been clear that a new right-winger is essential. Not a luxury. A necessity.

Centre-Forward: Isak Needs Help

Another concern: the number nine.

Alexander Isak is the standout centre-forward option, but he is not a 60-game iron man. Minor injuries have already shown how fragile that reliance can be. With Hugo Ekitike sidelined long term, Liverpool are walking a tightrope.

The club want that right-winger first, yet there is room – and logic – for another forward if the market breaks their way. If it doesn’t, Iraola may have to be creative.

Cody Gakpo could once again be asked to plug gaps through the middle. Florian Wirtz offers the possibility of a false nine, drifting and knitting play rather than playing as a traditional spearhead. Federico Chiesa is another name who can operate in advanced central areas, though none of these options truly nailed the role last season.

If injuries bite, the Academy becomes the next stop. When fit, Jayden Danns currently sits ahead of Will Wright in the internal pecking order. It’s a big ask, but the pathway is there if senior solutions don’t arrive.

Richard Hughes: One Window and Out?

While the squad evolves, the front office could be about to change again.

Expectation is building that sporting director Richard Hughes will depart once the summer window closes, with Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal emerging as his most likely destination. It would mark yet another shift in a position Liverpool have struggled to stabilise since the glory years of their previous recruitment structure.

As for who comes next, there is no obvious heir waiting in the wings. One internal option is Julian Ward, now technical director at Fenway Sports Group after his own brief spell as Liverpool’s sporting director. At present, though, there is no indication that a successor has been formally lined up. The club may yet have to solve a major backroom vacancy on the fly.

Kids on Tour: Who’s Really Close?

The pre-season tour in the United States has a heavy Academy flavour. It looks exciting. It also needs context.

Several of the youngsters out there have already sampled senior football on loan. James McConnell, Lewis Koumas, Calum Scanlon, Luke Chambers and Harvey Davies all fall into that category and, realistically, most of them are likely to head out again to continue their development.

Then there are the emerging prospects still at the very start of their journey. Will Wright and Josh Sonni-Lambie are in that bracket. So is 16-year-old winger Josh Abe, whose performances have generated real buzz inside the club. For Abe, though, the next step is more likely a season of heavy involvement in Premier League 2 with the under-21s, plus UEFA Youth League minutes with the U19s, rather than a sudden leap into the first team.

If you’re looking for names who could sniff senior competitive action soon, two stand out. Wright and Kieran Morrison – who signed a new contract in the summer and already has two senior appearances to his name – are strong candidates to feature in the League Cup squad in September. New 18-year-old centre-back Ifeanyi Ndukwe will also have chances to catch the eye on tour.

Breakthroughs are possible, but they will be measured, not romantic.

Right-Back and Djed Spence: A Complicated Puzzle

Right-back is one of the thorniest issues on Iraola’s desk.

Conor Bradley is his first-choice. That has been made clear. The problem is timing. The Northern Ireland international is still months away from returning, and Liverpool have to navigate the early stretch of the season without overexposing him when he does come back.

Jeremie Frimpong is the next in line, but his strengths lean heavily towards the attacking side of the game and he has had his own injury niggles since arriving last summer. Behind them, it was a patchwork job last season. Joe Gomez, Curtis Jones, Dominik Szoboszlai and Wataru Endo all filled in at various points.

Gomez may be needed centrally. Endo is not yet fully fit. Jones and Szoboszlai are midfielders by trade and by instinct. None is a long-term answer on the flank.

Logically, the cleanest fix would be either a centre-back who can also operate at right-back, or a specialist right-back on loan. Liverpool are wary of committing big money to a player they openly admit will not be first choice once Bradley is fully back in the groove. At the same time, Bradley’s patchy injury record as a professional is a factor that can’t be ignored.

This is where Djed Spence comes into the conversation for some supporters. On paper, he ticks a few boxes. In reality, he doesn’t fit what Liverpool need.

He is not a hybrid centre-back. He is not a short-term loan stopgap. He would be expensive. And there is another cautionary line that still resonates inside recruitment departments: never buy a player purely off the back of a strong World Cup.

Liverpool’s summer is being built on bigger questions than that. The right-winger to replace Salah. The forward depth behind Isak. The future of the sporting director’s office. The kids pushing at the door.

The window is open, the clock is running, and Anfield is waiting to see how bold this new era under Iraola is willing to be.