With Jeremie Frimpong expected to be out of action until December due to a hamstring injury, Liverpool are suddenly facing a potential shortage in their defensive line-up. The Reds have already lost Giovanni Leoni for the season due to an ACL injury, leaving Joe Gomez as the only experienced back-up for Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate. Gomez, an England international, could also fill in at full-back on either side if needed, although Arne Slot has generally avoided using him in this position during his tenure at Anfield.
Ahead of Saturday’s match against Aston Villa, the Dutch manager was asked if he had considered playing Gomez at right-back to address his team’s ongoing defensive issues. While Slot admitted he was open to adjusting his tactics when necessary, he maintained that he had not yet seen any reason to alter his current strategy.
“It does go against my beliefs,” he stated. “But I have won games in the past – we can talk about (Manchester) City away last season – that went against my beliefs, but it was necessary to play it over there like that in the second half.
“I would be more than open to adapt in certain situations. But I don’t think the story, at least in my opinion, is that we concede chance after chance after chance and are too open. It’s absolutely not like this.
“I don’t see us conceding a lot of chances, but I don’t see a reason to change our playing style completely. But we need to do better in not conceding goals, that’s for sure.”
As a result, it would be somewhat unexpected to see Gomez deployed at right-back with Frimpong unavailable.
However, with the Dutch star potentially sidelined for another seven fixtures, it places additional pressure on Conor Bradley in the meantime.
Slot may have rested Bradley against Palace with upcoming fixtures in mind, but expecting him to feature in every match during Frimpong’s absence is demanding – particularly considering his injury record.
This could explain why Dominik Szoboszlai, amongst Liverpool’s standout performers this campaign, has already been deployed in an unconventional full-back position several times this term.
The Reds do possess another right-back option should circumstances require it – Calvin Ramsay.
The forgotten defender featured in his first Liverpool outing for three years against Crystal Palace, emerging as his team’s brightest spark on a challenging evening whilst drawing commendation from Slot afterwards.
“I think Calvin had a very, very decent performance,” he said. “Calm on the ball. I don’t know if I said it over here but [in] the first half-hour, I think we had better chances than them actually and he was part of that. He played with composure. A decent-to-good game for him.”
After previously flying under the radar, the 22-year-old put in an impressive performance against Palace, suggesting he could potentially provide additional cover at right-back in the coming weeks.
However, he is not eligible to play in the Champions League, as he was not included in Liverpool’s squad for the league phase.
Granted, it would probably take more injuries for Ramsay to be suddenly thrust into Premier League action.
However, after three years without playing for Liverpool, his promising performance against Palace served as a pleasant reminder that the previously overlooked Scot is still a viable option.
