**Andoni Iraola will need to be satisfied with the defenders he now has heading into the 2026/27 season after the latest update from Fabrizio Romano.**
It’s no secret that even with the news of Ronald Araujo joining on loan from Barcelona, Liverpool are heading into the new Premier League season quite light on defensive depth.
Last season, even before Ibrahima Konate left on loan, Liverpool were not blessed with an abundance of depth in defence. They failed to replace Jarell Quansah when he joined Bayer Leverkusen, with Jeremy Jacquet now effectively replacing the Englishman.
The Reds signed Jeremie Frimpong to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold and Milos Kerkez to replace Kostas Tsimikas, who left on loan. The Greek fullback is now back from loan, but Andy Robertson has left to join Tottenham on a free transfer.
Ronald Araujo, in theory, fills the void left by Ibrahima Konate, but injury to any one of Liverpool’s centre-backs will create problems again for the Reds even if Giovanni Leoni has returned from injury and is set to be an option for them once more.
Fabrizio Romano says it’s not likely Liverpool will sign another defender but won’t rule it out
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Speaking on his eponymous [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=RSktUWvs0og) channel, Fabrizio Romano reports that while Liverpool have signed Araujo on loan from Barca, it’s not likely they will sign another defender this summer, even if it’s not safe to rule it out just yet.
_“For those who were asking me, Ronald Araujo is a centre-back, will they sign also a right-back?”_ the Italian said.
_“My understanding is that Liverpool, at least as of today, then let’s see in the next weeks, I never close doors to things in general, because knowing the market, things can always change._
_“But as of today, Liverpool see Ronald Araujo as a centre-back, of course, but eventually also as a right-back when needed._
_“Obviously defensive, but also right-back. And so I don’t expect Liverpool to add anything else in that position, at least as of now.”_
Liverpool will once again need to be creative with their thinking at right back after we saw Dominik Szoboszlai play 10 games there last season, but with the Reds not currently set to sign a new right back, it could be that Liverpool end up using him there.
Araujo can play at right back, but that’s a worst-case scenario, as even Hansi Flick preferred to use Jules Kounde there when push came to shove.