Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley are both vying to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold as Liverpool’s established right-back
Liverpool right-back duo Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley(Image: Getty Images)
It used to be one of the first positions on the Liverpool teamsheet under Jurgen Klopp and then Arne Slot. Now, though, the Reds are having major problems filling the hole left by Trent Alexander-Arnold jumping ship to Real Madrid during the summer.
Almost £30million was splashed out on taking Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen to compete with Academy graduate Conor Bradley for the role.
But it says much that Dominik Szoboszlai, a midfielder by trade, has been Liverpool’s most impressive performer this season in a position where both Joe Gomez and Wataru Endo have also had brief stints.
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Following in the footsteps of such an integral player as Alexander-Arnold was never going to be a straightforward task, particularly for a new arrival such as Frimpong experiencing the Premier League for this first time despite coming through the ranks as a youngster at Manchester City.
The Holland international hasn’t started a league game since being ruled out for a month with a hamstring problem sustained on his top-flight debut against Bournemouth on the opening weekend.
And former Liverpool defender Glen Johnson says: “I wonder if he’s a bit nervous and overawed by coming into a club like Liverpool.
“That would be understandable, and he has big shoes to fill as he’s replaced Trent Alexander-Arnold.
“But if that’s how he feels, he needs to forget about it all and concentrate on what he’s doing. He needs to show why Liverpool signed him and give the same performances he was in Germany.
“We haven’t seen enough of the player who excelled for Bayer Leverkusen. He’s known for his attacking play, but I haven’t seen that quality at all yet.”
For Bradley, the challenge is somewhat different, instead attempting to live up to the expectations he helped generate when making a concerted breakthrough into the Liverpool first team at the start of last year.
Similar to Frimpong, the 22-year-old’s cause hasn’t been helped by an injury that forced him to sit out part of pre-season and continued an unwanted trend of the defender suffering hamstring issues at key moments, such as the one that ruled him for a month having against Real Madrid last campaign and another spell on the sidelines around the League Cup final loss to Newcastle United and the Champions League exit against Paris Saint-Germain.
Indeed, it’s easy to forget Bradley has made just 20 career Premier League starts. By the time Alexander-Arnold departed, the England international had reached 235.
Nevertheless, the Northern Ireland international has become the man in possession of the right-back berth, starting the last three Premier League games although it will be a concern he was substituted at half-time in the defeats to Crystal Palace and Chelsea.
Slot, though, will hope Bradley benefits from a stellar performance for his country in their 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Slovakia on Friday, and will be rested after a booking ruled him out of Monday’s clash with Germany.
That highlights an issue in the youngster’s game this season, Bradley having already picked up three yellow cards in the Premier League and two in the Champions League. He is closing in on a suspension in both competitions.
Frimpong, meanwhile, failed to convince on the right of midfield for Holland in their win in Malta having performed similarly for Liverpool in Galatasaray in the position.
It has been a steep learning curve for the Dutchman, Slot indirectly pointing the finger at Frimpong after the 2-1 defeat at Crystal Palace in which the right-back’s eagerness to get forward at a set-piece allowed Eddie Nketiah to grab a dramatic winner for the Eagles.
And Johnson, speaking on behalf of 10bet, says: “Arne Slot is probably just trying to get a positive reaction. You know, what he said was right, to be honest.
“I don’t like it when managers do that, really. If it was me, I’d always want a manager to have it out with me in private or in the dressing room, so we can work it out together. It’s a bit strange to do it in public, but I don’t think he meant it in a negative way.
“You just signed the player for a lot of money, he’s only played a few times and is still settling in. So it would be a crazy time to go in harshly on the player.
“I think he was doing it to be positive, and the risk is it hasn’t been taken that way by Frimpong.”
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