Liverpool have been linked with a surprising name as a potential option to remedy what could soon become a problematic position in Arne Slot’s squad.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is reportedly close to joining Real Madrid on a free transfer at the end of his Reds contract this summer, which’d leave Conor Bradley as the only natural senior right-back at Anfield.
The Premier League leaders are rumoured to be in the market for positional replacements – most notably Jeremie Frimpong of Bayer Leverkusen – but another, less familiar alternative has seemingly emerged on Richard Hughes’ radar.
Liverpool interested in Andrei Ratiu
According to ProSport [via Bild], Liverpool have Rayo Vallecano right-back Andrei Ratiu on their wish list for the summer transfer window, with the Romanian also believed to be attracting interest from Barcelona, Manchester City and Leverkusen.
The 26-year-old has a modest release clause of €25m (£20.9m) in his contract with Los Franjirrojos, but there’s a devious catch which could make even that figure seem excessive.
When selling him in 2021, Villarreal inserted a buyback clause which gives them the opportunity to snap him up once more for a mere €7m (£5.8m) plus 50% of the transfer rights and then sell him to the highest bidder.
Liverpool swooping for Ratiu seems highly unlikely
Ratiu mightn’t be an overly familiar name to those who don’t closely follow LaLiga or the Romanian national team, although he did start all four matches for the latter at Euro 2024 last summer, earning the nickname ‘Sonic‘ due to a combination of his rapid pace and distinctive blue hair.
He has experience of playing at a high level for both club and country, and he could be a reasonably priced pickup to ensure that there’s adequate depth at right-back if – as seems likely – Trent leaves Liverpool for Real Madrid.
However, aside from progressive carries and successful take-ons per game, his underlying performance metrics don’t particularly stand out in comparison to positional peers in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year, and his defensive attributes are actually rather weak (FBref).
Also, FSG don’t seem like the type of operators who’d allow their pants to be pulled down by the crafty buyback clause that Villarreal inserted in 2021, so overall this seems like a long shot of a transfer rumour.
Nonetheless, we await to see if any reliable outlets closer to home corroborate it in the coming weeks.
