Lewis Steele has suggested a ‘quick and easy fix’ that Liverpool could enact in order to one potential transfer dilemma over the summer.
The journalist has reliably indicated that the newly-crowned Premier League champions have money to spend in the market and a concurrent willingness to do so,
One position which could be high on FSG’s to-do list is right-back, should Trent Alexander-Arnold depart on a free transfer in the coming weeks (which currently seems more likely than unlikely).
That’d leave Conor Bradley as Liverpool’s only senior option in that area of the pitch, and while Steele has every faith in the 21-year-old as a footballer, he has cited one understandable concern.
Steele suggests ‘quick and easy fix’ at right-back for Liverpool
Replying to a reader’s question for a Liverpool Confidential transfer Q&A for the Daily Mail, the journalist wrote: “Conor Bradley is a fabulous footballer but he cannot play every week. His fitness record since he became a first-team squad member at the start of last season has given reason for concern – a few niggly injuries along the way – but at this stage the noises are that the left-back position is seen as a bigger priority.”
He stressed that the previously linked Jeremie Frimpong isn’t being actively discussed at Anfield right now, but has offered an alternative suggestion who could be readily attainable.
Steele continued: “Another option that I would throw in there for a quick and easy fix would be Nottingham Forest’s Ola Aina, who is out of contract this summer. If he was available on a free transfer then, after the season he has had, big clubs should definitely be keeping tabs.”
Aina would be an astute addition on a free transfer
A recent report from CaughtOffside claimed that the Nigeria international has in fact been identified by Liverpool chiefs as a potential replacement for Trent, and with good reason.
Firstly, the 28-year-old is also into the final two months of his contract, and by snapping him up on a free transfer, it’d effectively offset the prospective exit of our current vice-captain in similar circumstances and go a long way towards making up for the galling loss of the LFC academy graduate (most likely to Real Madrid).
No right-back in the world could truly replace what our number 66 brings to the team, but with that dilemma now looming ever larger, the Anfield hierarchy will need to try and find someone who’d come as close as possible to replicating it.
Aina could well be a viable candidate after the season he’s had with Forest, for whom his dribbling ability and timely interventions have been a huge contributing factor in their unexpected challenge for a Champions League finish this season.
As per FBref, the Nigerian ranks among the top 15% of right-backs in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year for successful take-ons per game (1.08) and the top 24% for clearances per 90 minutes (3.24).
No incoming transfer in football is completely risk-free, not even a ‘free’ one, but the ex-Chelsea gem’s performances in the Premier League would suggest that he’s as safe a gamble as FSG could make if they need to replace Trent in either the squad or the starting XI.
If our vice-captain moves on, then Aina seems like the type of player that Liverpool should be seeking to pounce upon.
