Jamie Carragher believes that Liverpool have been culpable of a 'massive mistake' in the summer transfer window.
The Reds have added two defenders to their squad since the end of last season, with Jeremy Jacquet arriving from Rennes after that deal was agreed seven months ago, and Ronald Araujo later joining on loan from Barcelona .
While the latter can deputise at right-back, the Merseysiders didn't sign anyone with that as their primary position. In fact, they loaned out one such player in Calvin Ramsay , and with Conor Bradley still recovering from a serious knee injury, it leaves Jeremie Frimpong as their only senior option in that role.
The Dutchman's performances at the start of the season have been unconvincing , and with the Northern Ireland captain not due to return any time soon , Carragher feels that Liverpool's strategy of waiting for the latter rather than acting in the market was erroneous.
The Sky Sports pundit said on Stick to Football : "Conor Bradley got his chance and got a bad injury. My problem with it is, he's a good young player who's done really well, but if someone gets a bad injury, he's not that good that you don't replace him.
"You'd wait for Trent to come back and you'd wait for Andy Robertson to come back. Unfortunately I don't think we should be waiting for Conor Bradley to come back. You go and buy a right-back because Frimpong isn't one.
(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
"When Conor Bradley comes back, he's then got to fight for his place and I think that's fair; but this thing of 'we've got to wait for Conor Bradley to come back' – no. We're Liverpool, one of the biggest clubs in the world.
"You can't wait for Conor Bradley. We've got to get him back and good luck to him, but they've made a massive mistake."
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Many Liverpool supporters will likely agree with Carragher's take on the right-back situation, which contrasts with that voiced by Jamie Redknapp .
Bradley has been terrific for the Reds since breaking into the first team in 2024, but even prior to the cruel twist of fate that he suffered against Arsenal in January (we haven't forgotten, Gabriel Martinelli ), his injury record was a cause for concern.
Frimpong's fitness wasn't exactly exemplary last season, either, and Andoni Iraola is now heavily dependent on the Dutchman to not only maintain his availability but also show a lot more defensive nous than he's done in recent matches.
What we don't want to see as a matter of course this term (as was the case in 2025/26) is midfielders being shoehorned in at right-back due to a lack of numbers or a concern over performance levels from our actual right-backs.
It should also be noted that, whenever Bradley finally returns, he'll need a few games to properly get back up to speed after such a long absence. Until then, Liverpool are left hoping that Frimpong can be dependable in terms of both form and fitness.
