Liverpool Targets Andrei Rațiu for Right-Back Rebuild

Liverpool’s search for stability on the right of their defence is set to move back to La Liga, with Rayo Vallecano’s Andrei Rațiu emerging as the next target in a summer of hard-edged decisions at Anfield.

The club are reportedly preparing an opening bid for the 28-year-old Romanian, a player long viewed in Spain as one of the league’s most underappreciated full-backs. He has quietly stacked up 102 appearances for Rayo since arriving three years ago, anchoring a side that punched above its weight all the way to a UEFA Conference League final earlier this year, where they fell to Crystal Palace.

Now Liverpool believe that under-the-radar reliability is exactly what they need.

Right-back rethink after a brutal season

The position has been a running sore for Liverpool ever since Trent Alexander-Arnold walked away to join Real Madrid on a free. Arne Slot inherited the fallout and then watched both Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley spend key stretches on the treatment table.

The knock-on effect was brutal. Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai were both pushed into makeshift right-back roles, robbing the midfield of drive and control just as Liverpool’s season began to come apart. It left a clear lesson: the club could no longer gamble on depth in such a pivotal area.

That is where Andoni Iraola comes in. Backed already to bring in Victor Munoz from Osasuna, the new man in charge is turning again to a league he knows inside out. He wants a direct, credible challenger to Frimpong, not a stopgap, and sees Rațiu as a defender who can step straight into the Premier League fight.

Frimpong is still expected to start next season as first-choice right-back. The plan is not to demote him, but to push him. Rațiu, in Iraola’s eyes, has the temperament and engine to do exactly that. What that means for Bradley, a highly regarded academy graduate who has already shown flashes of quality, is far less clear.

Rayo’s hard stance and Liverpool’s confidence

Rayo Vallecano are in no rush to sell. Rațiu signed a new long-term deal in November 2025, tying him to the club for another four years and putting the La Liga side in a strong position at the negotiating table.

The expectation is that Rayo will look for a fee in the region of £25 million. In today’s market, Iraola is said to view that as strong value for a player with Rațiu’s experience and output. Liverpool, for their part, are described as confident they can get a deal done, likely by structuring an offer with significant add-ons to tempt Rayo into business.

This is not a speculative punt. Rațiu is a 38-cap Romania international, a former Romanian Footballer of the Year and a mainstay in a side that reached a European final. Liverpool are targeting him as someone capable not just of covering minutes, but of playing regularly across a long, unforgiving campaign.

Busy summer, big calls

The move for Rațiu comes in the middle of a hectic window at Anfield. Another defensive signing is already locked in: Jeremy Jacquet will be officially unveiled next week after completing his £55 million switch from Rennes.

The French defender agreed the move on winter deadline day, then stayed in Ligue 1 to finish the season, only to suffer a serious shoulder injury shortly after his transfer was announced. Even so, his rehabilitation has gone to plan, and he is expected to be ready for initial pre-season testing early next month.

Giovanni Leoni, another young centre-back, is also on schedule to return. The 19-year-old tore his ACL in his left knee on his debut against Southampton in the Carabao Cup last September and has not played since. Liverpool now hope both Jacquet and Leoni will be available when Slot begins shaping his back line on the training pitches.

One thing is obvious: defence is being ripped up and rebuilt.

Rațiu, if Liverpool can prise him from Rayo, would be more than another name on a long list of signings. He would be a statement that the right-back chaos of last season will not be allowed to repeat itself – and that every place in this new-look back four is there to be fought for.