Right-back was a problem area for Liverpool for so much of last season. Their succession plan following Trent Alexander-Arnold’s move to Real Madrid last summer didn’t work out.Academy graduate Conor Bradley, whose development had been rewarded with a new four-year contract, was backed to step up and fill a sizeable void. However, the Northern Ireland international was only fit enough to start a dozen Premier League matches in 2025-26 before a serious knee injury sustained against Arsenal in January ended his campaign prematurely.Jeremie Frimpong, who had arrived from Bayer Leverkusen for £29.5million ($39.9m), was supposed to ensure they had sufficient cover on the right, but he was hampered by hamstring issues and, when he was available, his form was erratic.As a result, Arne Slot was forced to look for alternative solutions. There were square pegs in round holes. By the end of a desperate season, which resulted in Slot losing his job after a fifth-placed league finish, seven members of the squad had put in shifts at right-back.How Bradley Barcola went from Lyon’s B-team to European superstarReuben Pinder and Trevor CapelAccording to Opta, Bradley clocked up 1,205 minutes there in all competitions for Liverpool in 2025-26, followed by Frimpong (1,131), Dominik Szoboszlai (1,036), Curtis Jones (738), Joe Gomez (698), Wataru Endo (167) and Calvin Ramsay (90).Slot was criticised for playing Szoboszlai there so often because it had the knock-on effect of weakening his team’s midfield, especially as the output of Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister dropped off.The Dutch coach restored Szoboszlai, who was Liverpool’s most consistent performer, to an advanced central role during the run-in, with fellow midfielder Jones employed as the makeshift right-back.With a new era dawning at Anfield under Andoni Iraola this summer, it appeared that the Szoboszlai at right-back experiment had been consigned to history.The Hungary international ended speculation over his future by signing a new five-year contract in July and was subsequently given more responsibility as Iraola appointed him as one of the club’s new vice-captains, along with Alisson and Gomez. There’s no doubt where Szoboszlai feels he’s best operating in order to maximise his influence on games.“Last season, I played a lot of positions,” he told reporters in Chicago during Liverpool’s pre-season tour. “I prefer to play in midfield but if he (Iraola) wants me to play right-back, I will play right-back.”Szoboszlai has regularly operated at right-back in recent times (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)Szoboszlai wouldn’t have expected to have to answer the call quite so soon. There were 19 minutes remaining in last Saturday’s second game of the campaign when Iraola took off Frimpong, brought on Gravenberch in midfield, and gestured for Szoboszlai to drop into the back line.With Liverpool chasing the game at 2-1 down against Nottingham Forest, Iraola’s substitutions helped to provide fresh impetus as Victor Munoz’s equaliser salvaged a point.Just an in-game tweak or a sign of things to come? It should be the latter.Given the extent to which Frimpong has struggled both defensively and offensively in the opening two matches, Szoboszlai needs to start at right-back against newly promoted Ipswich Town at Portman Road tonight. He’s certainly got the athleticism and the distribution to deliver what Iraola wants in that position, with full-backs given greater freedom than under Slot.Options are limited with Bradley still out, Jones sold to Inter and Ramsay loaned to St Mirren. Endo is solid enough but so limited going forward.On-loan defender Ronald Araujo is the most obvious alternative at right-back given he played there at times for Barcelona last season, but his two cameos at centre-back so far would suggest he’s still finding his feet at Liverpool. Gomez will soon provide another option for Iraola, with the club’s longest-serving player due back in training next week after suffering a muscle injury in July’s opening pre-season friendly.Szoboszlai is currently Iraola’s best bet to address a clear weakness which opponents are targeting. In his favoured system, which has Florian Wirtz as the No 10, the Basque coach can then select between Mac Allister, Gravenberch and Trey Nyoni for the two midfield spots behind the Germany international.“Since I started here, I talked to a lot of players about the position where they prefer to play, but I haven’t found any situations where any player has told me: ‘I don’t want to play here’,” Iraola told reporters at a press conference on Thursday to preview the trip to Ipswich.“I think everyone has shown the right attitude. I more or less know the preferred position of everyone. Sometimes it’s the same that I think, sometimes I say: ‘OK, I see you maybe more here’.“If we have to play Dom as a right winger, as a right-back, as a left-back, I think he’s ready to do it. He wants to help the team first. It’s also good to have players who can cover different positions, especially now that we have some injuries. We need this versatility. Having players like Dom for me is very valuable because even in-game, they allow me to change their positions.”If Iraola shares the frustration of many supporters that Liverpool didn’t do more business in the summer transfer window, then he did a good job of hiding it when he spoke to the media at the club’s Kirkby training complex. There was delight at landing “our priority” Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain after previous deals for Jeremy Jacquet, Munoz and Araujo.“I know the next question: ‘Did you want more signings in other positions?’ There were other options we decided not to take for different reasons,” Iraola said.“Sometimes for sporting reasons because they don’t improve what you have. Sometimes for economic reasons, as it didn’t make sense in terms of the market. I have a lot of quality and now it’s the moment for us, for the players, for me, to develop what we have.”Two areas of the squad have dominated the discourse among the fanbase since the window closed: midfield and right-back.Iraola doesn’t believe that Liverpool left themselves short by not buying a specialist holding midfielder. Promising teenager Nyoni is set to be given more opportunities following Jones’ move.“In midfield, we have good numbers,” he insisted. “Now it’s a matter of getting the right calls from my side and finding the best combinations. I learn every game. We are going to go into a period where we will have the chance to see all the options we have. It’s a matter of coaching and taking the decisions.”Jeremie Frimpong has struggled for form and fitness so far during his time at Anfield (Jan Kruger/Getty Images)Iraola acknowledged that the situation at right-back was different: “Definitely. We look thin, yes. We don’t have Conor Bradley or Joe Gomez right now. If you take two players from any position, you will look thin always. Versatility in the players helps us to go through these moments.”With Gomez on the comeback trail and Bradley to follow, it was decided that buying another right-back wasn’t a smart use of Liverpool’s resources. Iraola will be expected to revive the fortunes of Frimpong, who has endured a difficult period for both club and country, having been cast aside by the Netherlands prior to this summer’s World Cup.In time, the landscape will shift and Szoboszlai will return to where he really wants to play at the heart of Iraola’s team. But here and now, Szoboszlai at right-back makes a lot of sense.