Liverpool have been linked with a move for a Barcelona right-back this summer
Liverpool go into the new season without a fully fit senior right-back.
Conor Bradley has not played since suffering a serious knee injury against Arsenal in January, and head coach Andoni Iraola said last month that the defender remains “far from returning.”
UK ONLY
Jeremie Frimpong has had his own fitness struggles since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen and needs competition for his position, which would also help manage his workload and maintain his fitness throughout the season.
In their absence, Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones were both used as emergency cover at right-back last season.
That uncertainty has fed into transfer speculation over the past few weeks.
According to SPORT, Liverpool are among several English clubs now linked with Barcelona right-back Hector Fort.
Everton and Fulham have also shown interest in the 20-year-old, with Everton currently considered best placed to sign him.
SPORT reports that the Toffees could present the most attractive proposal for all parties involved.
Fort spent last season on loan at Elche, making 17 appearances for the La Liga club without Barcelona including a purchase option in the deal. He made 30 senior appearances for Barcelona after coming through the club’s La Masia academy.
Barcelona have since shifted their stance on how they want to sell him. The club’s sporting department is now said to favour a permanent transfer, one that would let Barcelona retain a significant percentage of any future sale.
That marks a change from the Elche loan, which included no such mechanism. Barcelona want a deal for Fort completed before the transfer window closes.
Inter Milan had also been credited with interest in Fort but have since agreed a deal with Tottenham Hotspur for Djed Spence, leaving Everton, Fulham and Liverpool as the clubs still in the running.
For Liverpool, any move for the Barcelona right-back would come against the backdrop of their own injury concerns.