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Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer are in agreement regarding the Liverpool right-back position, claiming that Arne Slot doesn't trust his options in that role after Trent Alexander-Arnold moved on in the summer.
Dominik Szoboszlai has filled in there at times, and Conor Bradley is still working his way back to peak form and fitness after an injury, while Jeremie Frimpong was brought in from Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of around $39 million (£29 million) when his release clause was triggered.
But Rooney and Shearer believe that Slot isn't happy with any of the options available to him on the right side of his defense. So far, he has changed things up a lot in that position this season.
"I think there was worrying signs from the start," Rooney said. "I know obviously Liverpool win the games, but they weren’t winning them in in a way a manner they was last season.
"And I think there were there signs there that something wasn't quite right. I think the last week has shown that. I think he clearly doesn’t trust any of the right backs."
"They’ve signed Frimpong, and he’s not comfortable with him at right-back," Shearer said. "They’ve tried three different right-backs: Frimpong, Szoboszlai and Bradley.
"He’s played Frimpong up top on the right of a front three on Thursday at Istanbul, that didn’t work either. So they have big problems, not just defensively but in the midfield as well."
The idea that Slot distrusts Frimpong at right-back probably stems from him being deployed on the wing against Galatasaray.
However, that was always the plan for the player to deputize for Mohamed Salah at times, as he could do when Salah heads for AFCON for a significant period in the middle of the season.
Frimpong was a wing-back for Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen and plays almost exclusively in attack for the Netherlands, so playing in an advanced position is nothing unusual for him.
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Virgil van Dijk was asked about the right-back position after Liverpool lost to Chelsea at the weekend, and he was insistent that losing Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid is not the problem.
"It's not about him," he said. "He had amazing quality but he left us. Last year, we played a lot of games without him as well. Obviously we were all gutted that he left in the summer, but that is not the issue."
Van Dijk was also pressed on there being a few different players to have played the role. "So many different qualities as well," he said. "Jeremie has got pace. He came new to the club and came back from the injury.
"Conor, he showed it last season so many times how good he is, and Dom showed it this season as well in that position. He gives a different dimension to the game. He can play in the middle a lot more and can push higher up at times. Right-back is not the issue."
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