With Conor Bradley out for the rest of the season, Arne Slot faces a conundrum at right-back as he tries to ensure the injury doesn’t affect Liverpool’s performances.
Liverpool’s Right-Back Conundrum: A quick look
• Five potential fixes: Jeremie Frimpong is the lead candidate, while Joe Gomez offers defensive stability. Slot has also reluctantly used midfielders Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones as emergency cover.
• Internal wildcard: Calvin Ramsay is back to fitness and could see his planned January loan cancelled to provide natural competition in the first-team squad.
• Transfer stance: Despite the usual transfer rumours circulating, the club is unlikely to make a permanent January signing
“It’s an enormous blow” – that is how Slot described the loss of Bradley, who has undergone knee surgery following his injury sustained against Arsenal.
The head coach has five potential options to replace the Northern Ireland international at right-back, but he has already said he doesn’t want to play one of them, Dominik Szoboszlai, though he may have no choice.
From Jeremie Frimpong to Joe Gomez, an academy youngster and a potential signing, we look at how Slot could find a solution to Bradley’s absence.
Jeremie Frimpong
Frimpong is the obvious candidate to take Bradley’s place.
Since returning from two hamstring injuries, he has been reintegrated as a right-winger but will now be needed at full-back.
With Mo Salah coming back from AFCON next week, it is less of a blow to the frontline. However, the pace he offered in beating opponents will still be missed by the attack.
Slot has already explained that he will have to manage the Dutchman’s minutes, saying: “I have to make sure that he’s able to play again at the weekend, and then we go to Marseille and then we go to Bournemouth.
“It’s nine games in January with six defenders available. I have to manage it in the right way.”
Liverpool defensive depth chart January 2026: Who is available for each position?
| Position | First Choice | Regular Cover | Emergency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centre-Back (R) | Ibrahima Konate | Joe Gomez |
Ryan Gravenberch Wataru Endo Wellity Lucky |
| Centre-Back (L) | Virgil van Dijk |
Andy Robertson Joe Gomez |
Amara Nallo Wataru Endo Andy Robertson |
| Right-Back | Jeremie Frimpong |
Joe Gomez Dominik Szoboszlai |
Calvin Ramsay Curtis Jones |
| Left-Back | Milos Kerkez | Andy Robertson | Joe Gomez |
• Starters / Primary
• Regular Cover
• Emergency / Out of Position
Current Defensive Injuries
Joe Gomez
While he is a centre-back by trade, Gomez has already played seven times at full-back this season, due to injuries affecting Bradley and Frimpong which have impacted Slot’s team selection during the first half of the campaign.
He is a capable deputy at full-back, but there are two issues, one being his lack of natural attacking flair. The issue isn’t so much with his ability but more the massive contrast in style between him and Frimpong.
Liverpool playing Frimpong in one game and Gomez in the next would require vastly different setups to work effectively, thus making it difficult to pull off.
The other problem is that playing him at right-back means Liverpool have no centre-back cover, except for 20-year-old Wellity Lucky or midfielders Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo.
Dominik Szoboszlai or Curtis Jones
A solution Slot has turned to on several occasions this season has been to put a midfielder at right-back, in theory maintaining the side’s fluidity and offering some of the possession-retaining traits Trent Alexander-Arnold used to demonstrate.
Slot has already told reporters: “I hope that you don’t think that I would like to play Dominik Szoboszlai as a right full-back.”
That he has done several times, though; the Hungarian has made five appearances on the right of the Reds’ defence this season, while Curtis Jones has played there once.
The pair are able to do respectable jobs in the makeshift role, but in turn it means taking them away from where they are most effective, in midfield.
There are also defensive questions to be asked of the pair’s positioning when playing at full-back; it is only normal given they are out of position, but it could be a problem nonetheless.
Calvin Ramsay
An unlikely option but one that some fans have been calling for, is to play Calvin Ramsay.
He would be playing in his natural position, unlike the others on this list, and it would give him a great chance to develop.
The Scottish 22-year-old initially joined the academy in 2022, but a succession of injuries and failed loan spells has meant his development hasn’t gone as planned.
Finally back to fitness now, he has worked his way into the first team squad and put in a solid display from the start when Liverpool lost to Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup.
Under-21s manager Rob Page told This Is Anfield in early November that “we can seriously be looking about getting a club to go out on loan.”
However, Bradley’s injury may just have given him an unexpected opportunity on Merseyside.
A new signing?
Due to Liverpool’s history of not buying for the short-term, it would be a surprise to see the club sign a right-back in January, even on loan.
The Athletic‘s David Ornstein wrote: “For Liverpool, the hope is that he (Bradley) will be back for the start of pre-season and – given the way the club operate – they would not make a permanent signing for such a period of time.”
In terms of players who have been linked, the most recent name to pop up is that of Julian Ryerson at Borussia Dortmund, whom Liverpool ‘are considering’, according to Absolute Fussball.
Sky Sport Germany’s Florian Plettenberg has since said the Norwegian is ‘currently not a candidate’.
Have Your Say
Who should Liverpool play at right-back in Conor Bradley‘s absence?
Does Jeremie Frimpong need to drop back permanently or is it time to give Calvin Ramsay a run in the side? Is Dominik Szoboszlai really the best option at the moment?
Let us know your preferred solution in the comments below.