Liverpool ‘made a massive mistake’ by not signing a right-back

Liverpool have been criticised for not signing a right-back during this summer’s transfer window.

Jeremie Frimpong has struggled since joining Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen.

With Conor Bradley still sidelined, Frimpong has the chance to secure a regular starting berth. However, he has yet to take the opportunity.

Speaking on The Overlap, pundit Jamie Carragher said Liverpool should have signed a right-back instead of sticking with Frimpong and waiting for Bradley’s return from injury.

“Conor Bradley got his chance, got a bad injury, didn’t do particularly well last season to be honest,” Carragher said.

“Now my problem with it is – Conor is a good young player, has done really well, but if someone gets a bad injury, he’s not that good that you don’t need to replace him.

“You’d wait for Trent (Alexander-Arnold) to come back, you’d wait for Andy Robertson to come back, but unfortunately I don’t think you should be waiting for Conor to come back.

“You go and buy a right-back because Frimpong isn’t one. And then when Conor comes back because he got a bad injury, he’s got to fight for his place, and I think that’s fair.

“This thing of ‘we’re waiting for Conor to come back’ – no. Liverpool are one of the biggest clubs in the world – you can’t wait for Conor.

“You want to get him back and good luck to him, but they’ve made a massive mistake.”

Manager Andoni Iraola has a decision to make on whether to stick with the Netherlands international for Liverpool’s trip to Ipswich Town on Friday.

Iraola has said that Dominik Szoboszlai is ‘ready to play at right-back’, leading to suggestions that he could be deployed there at Portman Road.

Ronald Araujo can also play at right-back. His ability to provide cover at full-back was a key reason they signed him on loan from Barcelona.

Joe Gomez is another option, but he is sidelined after picking up an injury during the friendly against Sunderland.

There are also concerns at left-back. Carragher described first-choice Milos Kerkez as the ‘Darwin Nunez of full-backs’ due to his lack of composure.

Liverpool prioritised attacking reinforcements last summer. Their reluctance to strengthen at full-back could be their biggest undoing this season.