Andoni Iraola has already used three different players at right-back for Liverpool but he won't be calling on Conor Bradley any time soon
Dominik Szoboszlai (centre) and Ronald Araujo have both played at right-back for Liverpool this season
Dominik Szoboszlai (centre) and Ronald Araujo have both played at right-back for Liverpool this season(Image: Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
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Liverpool continue to have issues in the full-back areas and the situation at right-back is not about to get better anytime soon. Northern Irishman Conor Bradley was seen as the natural heir to Trent Alexander-Arnold after the decorated full-back chose to join Real Madrid.
But Bradley has been out of action since January after suffering a serious knee injury against Arsenal. Since then, a host of players have been tried in the position, with former Reds boss Arne Slot deploying no fewer than six alternatives last season.
Andoni Iraola is only five games into his own managerial tenure with the Reds, but he has already deployed three different players in the position. Jeremie Frimpong started the season before being taken out in favour of summer signing Ronald Araujo and midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai has also served a stint in a position he covered several times last season.
On Monday, Iraola confirmed that Bradley was still way off a return to first-team action, so the question for the Spaniard now is, who should be fulfilling the right-back role for the foreseeable future, at least until Bradley is once again fit or a permanent replacement is identified?
Our ECHO Liverpool FC writers have shared their considered thoughts.
Ian Doyle
The prospect of Dominik Szoboszlai lining up at right-back is probably enough to send a shudder through the spine of most Liverpool supporters given what it represented last season.
But that the Hungary international was so effective on the defensive flank should give Andoni Iraola food for thought as he contemplates his options in the position.
Conor Bradley is the first choice. That is non-negotiable. But he has been sidelined since January and is still not close to a return, and will likely require months back in action before he gets back up to speed.
Iraola, then, is probably going to have to mix and match for the duration of this campaign. And going horses for courses is probably the right approach.
It means Ronald Araujo will be the better option for some games - if not Fulham at home, like on Saturday - and Jeremie Frimpong others. And Szoboszlai surely must come into the thinking of the Reds boss given he hasn't got close to his level yet this season while playing in a midfield two.
Who knows, right-back - or at the very least, a position on the right flank - could be the future for Szoboszlai. After all, it's where Steven Gerrard, the man who he wants to replicate, operated for parts of his career.
Theo Squires
When sitting down for an interview with Steven Gerrard recently, Dominik Szoboszlai revealed that while he did not overly mind the position, Andoni Iraola had made it clear to him that he would not be playing right-back this season.
Given Conor Bradley’s long-term absence, it would be tempting to hope the Liverpool head coach reverses on such a stance. Especially considering the difficulty the Reds are finding in fitting the Hungarian into a sturdy midfield two with Florian Wirtz ahead of them at number 10 so far this season.
Yet if Iraola sticks with such a stance, the midfield is a different dilemma he has to solve. In the meantime, what is the solution at right-back in the ongoing absence of Bradley?
Jeremie Frimpong is not suited to playing as a traditional right-back - certainly not in the Premier League. Having struggled for form and with fitness since joining Liverpool, it would take a big reverse in the Dutchman’s fortunes for him to emerge as first-choice at full-back.
So that leaves Ronald Araujo and Joe Gomez to share duties. The Uruguayan impressed in such a position against Ipswich Town and Atletico Madrid, while the England international has shown he is perfectly capable there before.
Playing a traditional centre-back at right-back has served the likes of Arsenal well in recent years and perhaps it is time the Reds embraced such a tactic.
At the very least, it could help compensate for other weaknesses in their squad. Without a true enforcer in midfield, Araujo or Gomez could tuck in as a third centre-back to offer extra protection at the back.
Milos Kerkez can then continue to bomb forward and provide width down the left, with Liverpool’s left-winger cutting in to support Alexander Isak in attack along with Florian Wirtz.
Meanwhile, with the Reds lacking a left-footed right winger following the departure of Mohamed Salah, their right-footed wideman can provide the width on that flank instead.
The days of Trent Alexander-Arnold providing creativity from full-back are long gone at Anfield. Szoboszlai might be the most natural replacement for the now Real Madrid man, but Liverpool's solution will likely look rather different.
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Richard Garnett
The patient wait for Conor Bradley to return to the Liverpool first team could all be in vain. The popular 23-year-old has only managed to conjure up just nine consecutive starts for the Reds so far in his career and I fear that a genuine alternative may eventually need to be pursued in the transfer market.
Until then, however, Iraola has some interesting alternative options. Jeremie Frimpong started the season there but was soon displaced by Ronald Araujo. The on-loan Barcelona man has made a solid start to his time at Anfield, and in tough matches against top opposition, he would be my preferred choice.
However, the Reds need to get on the front foot, particularly at home, and although Frimpong can provide that, Dominik Szobozslai can bring more control to that position, starting attacks from deep.
I suspect that is not where the Hungarian sees his Liverpool future, but his success in the position last season outweighs what he is currently offering in midfield. It would appear that Iraola doesn’t mind him back there either, so he might have to get used to it.