Liverpool has not signed a senior right-back since Brendan Rodgers brought in Nathaniel Clyne from Southampton for a fee of around $15 million (£12 million) in July 2015.
But a decade on, Trent Alexander-Arnold is leaving, and Jeremie Frimpong, the Bayer Leverkusen wing-back, appears to be coming in. Conor Bradley, meanwhile, another lifelong Liverpool fan to emerge from the academy, has penned a new contract and is ready to step up.
Losing a unique talent like Alexander-Arnold is not going to be easy for Liverpool. There is a reason that Real Madrid was so desperate to snap him up: at his best, he is the best right-back in the world.
But Arne Slot has already said that Liverpool will move on, bigging up Bradley in particular. If and when the Frimpong deal is closed, he will no doubt be very pleased with that too.
What could Bradley and Frimpong offer Liverpool, though, and how are they different? Can either or both do enough to step into the creative shoes of Alexander-Arnold while offering a little more defensive stability?
They both like to bomb forward but are solid enough one-versus-one defenders. And while they offer different skills, there is some overlap in the pair’s attributes.
(Image: Jurgen Fromme – firo sportphoto/Getty Images)
Bradley is very much an all-action, front-foot defender who can overlap in attack and push forward to help out Mohamed Salah. He is a more typical right-back than either Alexander-Arnold or Frimpong.
Where does he need to improve? Consistency has been the key — as it usually is for young players who are coming through — and Slot has been keen in recent weeks to drive home that message.
It is one thing coming into the starting XI as a one-off and impressing, but doing it every week takes a different kind of focus and concentration. Against Arsenal, for instance, Bradley had a strong first half but tailed off and tired in the second.
While Bradley has drawn praise for smashing into Kylian Mbappe and scoring against Chelsea, he needs to prove he can be the man every single week. In order to do that, he first needs to prove he can stay fit enough for that.
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Frimpong has been used mainly as a wing-back for Leverkusen, but that does not mean he is only capable of performing that role. He is a good defender when he needs to be and has the energy to get up and down the flank.
Even if his positioning in Germany was very much closer to a winger than a right-back, he can do both. That versatility, as well as the modest release clause, is part of the appeal.
Where Bradley and Frimpong are similar is that both are far likelier to dribble upfield with the ball — the latter even more so than the former — whereas Alexander-Arnold was very much a passer. Creativity and progression can still be gained from that position without the Liverpool number 66, but just via a different method.
Are either of Bradley or Frimpong better or even at the same level as Alexander-Arnold right now? No, but neither do they need to be. Both are good players with interesting skillsets that Slot will be hoping to get the best from.
