Andoni Iraola says Liverpool is in the market for a new winger, but Jason McAteer has insisted that cannot be the only priority before the next season kicks off in August
Ian Doyle Chief Liverpool FC Correspondent and Matt Addison Liverpool FC Reporter
08:54, 18 Jul 2026
Bradley Barcola represents France at the World Cup.
Bradley Barcola represents France at the World Cup.(Image: Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images)
Former Liverpool defender Jason McAteer believes his old club must breathe new life into its right flank this summer and ought not to overlook bringing in a new full-back too.
New Reds head coach Andoni Iraola has acknowledged his interest in securing a new right winger, having previously conceded that his squad lacks sufficient depth. With Mohamed Salah gone, a replacement is required.
But Liverpool also found itself struggling at right-back last season, with Conor Bradley still recovering from the serious knee injury he sustained in January, and Jeremie Frimpong hampered by muscular problems and a dip in form.
This resulted in Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones, Wataru Endo and Joe Gomez all being called upon to fill the position, with varying degrees of success.
McAteer is firmly of the opinion that the Reds must venture into the transfer market to bolster their defensive options, alongside securing an additional attacking presence.
"I think the areas of concern are down Liverpool's right-hand side, having lost Trent (Alexander-Arnold) two seasons ago," he said.
"It vacated a big, big space which we obviously thought Conor Bradley would slot into. You felt Conor was ready to go into that position but unfortunately through injury and performances he's not been able to do that.
New Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola
New Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola
"And then Jeremie Frimpong came in. He's not an ideal right-back in defensive situations. He's more of a wing-back, more of an attacking player. So he's had to fill in and we've had Szobsozlai play right-back too so it's not been great.
"I think that had unsettled Salah as well and then Salah's obviously gone. So that right-hand side is an area we need to strengthen, both in the full-back and the wide position.
"There's been no real talk about a full-back, but certainly (Yan) Diomande has been spoken about quite a lot to come into that area."
Liverpool was prepared to pay up to $115 million (£85 million) for Diomande, but RB Leipzig wanted more. PSG then emerged as the Ivory Coast international's favored next destination anyway.
McAteer went on to say: "Diomande did OK during the World Cup. It was difficult for Ivory Coast.
"He showed flashes of what he can do, but the thing about the younger players in this tournament is the likes of (Ayyoub) Bouaddi and (Lamine) Yamal seemed to take the headlines and kind of took the spotlight off him a little bit, which is not a bad thing.
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"But the fact that you're looking at maybe paying £100M for him means that you're kind of looking for him to set the world alight at that kind of price on the biggest stage, and the World Cup was his platform.
"It was difficult to judge him on his World Cup performances, but he's definitely a young talent that needs to be looked at."
In an interview with Betarades, McAteer also suggested that France international Bradley Barcola of PSG would represent the shrewder acquisition for Liverpool this summer.
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"Between Diomande and Barcola I would probably go for Barcola right now," he said. "I don't think Liverpool need to buy potential anymore. I think we found out last season that potential doesn't necessarily work all the time.
"You kind of need to buy a bit more of a finished article and someone you can trust a little bit more. I just think Barcola's performances in this World Cup have just shown more maturity than Diomande."