Liverpool’s biggest weakness is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. While attention has focused on their expensive new attackers and midfield problems, concerns around the full-back positions are now becoming one of the clearest talking points surrounding Andoni Iraola’s team.
Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong arrived at Anfield with significant expectations after being recruited as long-term replacements for Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
However, their performances have generated questions rather than certainty.
Recent analysis has increasingly identified Liverpool’s full-back positions as a vulnerable area, with former Premier League players and Liverpool-focused publications pointing to issues in both defensive positioning and attacking quality.
For Cambodian football fans following the Premier League, this could become one of the most important tactical storylines to watch as Liverpool’s new era develops.
Liverpool’s Full-Back Problem Is Getting Bigger
Liverpool’s transition away from Robertson and Alexander-Arnold was always going to be difficult.
For almost a decade, the two full-backs were central to Liverpool’s attacking identity.
Robertson provided relentless running, overlapping movement and deliveries from the left, while Alexander-Arnold became one of the most creative passers in European football from the right.
Replacing them required more than simply finding two players capable of playing full-back.
Liverpool needed players who could contribute to their attacking structure while also maintaining defensive discipline.
That transition has not gone smoothly.
Milos Kerkez was signed from Bournemouth after establishing himself as one of the Premier League’s promising young left-backs, while Jeremie Frimpong arrived from Bayer Leverkusen with a reputation as an explosive attacking wing-back.
On paper, the profiles made sense.
On the pitch, the combination has been much more complicated.
Kerkez and Frimpong Offer Plenty Going Forward
One reason Liverpool’s full-back situation is so complicated is that neither player lacks attacking ability.
Frimpong has built his reputation around speed, aggressive forward runs and his ability to arrive in dangerous areas.
Kerkez also possesses the athleticism required for modern attacking football.
The problem is the balance.
When both full-backs push forward, Liverpool can leave significant space behind them.
That is especially dangerous for a team attempting to play aggressively and recover possession high up the pitch.
Recent analysis has suggested that Liverpool’s full-back structure can leave them vulnerable during transitions, particularly when possession is lost.
The Space Behind Them Matters
Modern football increasingly revolves around transitions.
A team can dominate possession for long periods and still concede dangerous chances within seconds of losing the ball.
For Liverpool, this becomes particularly important because their full-backs are encouraged to move high.
If the midfield cannot immediately protect the space behind them, opponents can attack those channels.
That creates a difficult tactical equation for Iraola.
Does he allow Kerkez and Frimpong to continue playing aggressively?
Or does he ask them to stay deeper, potentially reducing one of Liverpool’s most important attacking outlets?
Liverpool Have Already Tried Another Solution
The situation at right-back has already forced Liverpool to experiment.
Ronald Araujo has been used at right-back, with reports suggesting that Iraola has preferred the Barcelona defender’s defensive reliability in certain situations.
Araujo’s arrival has therefore created another option in the position, while Frimpong has faced competition for his place.
That is significant.
Frimpong was expected to become one of the key pieces of Liverpool’s new team, but the tactical demands of playing as a traditional full-back are different from those he experienced in a more attacking wing-back role.
The Premier League’s strongest teams can punish even small defensive mistakes.
For Liverpool, the margin for error is particularly small.
The Left-Back Position Is Also Under Scrutiny
The situation on the opposite side is arguably even more complicated.
Kerkez was brought in as a long-term successor to Robertson, while Kostas Tsimikas remained as another option.
But recent performances have increased doubts about whether Liverpool have genuinely solved the position.
AnfieldWatch recently argued that Liverpool’s left-back situation had become a new transfer priority, with both Kerkez and Tsimikas struggling to establish themselves as undisputed options.
There has even been reporting linking Liverpool with Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde as a possible future solution.
🟡 That is a remarkable development considering Liverpool spent heavily to address their defence only recently.
Why Liverpool Cannot Simply Ignore It
Liverpool have already invested significant money in their squad.
The club spent heavily on attackers and defenders across successive transfer windows, including major fees for players such as Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, Jérémy Jacquet and Bradley Barcola.
Yet the full-back positions remain under discussion.
That creates an obvious recruitment question.
If Liverpool knew Robertson and Alexander-Arnold were leaving, was enough attention given to finding players capable of reproducing their overall contribution?
Replacing a position is one thing.
Replacing a function is another.
Liverpool’s Attack Makes the Issue Even More Important
There is another reason the full-back problem matters.
Liverpool have invested heavily in attacking players.
Barcola, Isak, Wirtz and other attacking options require a team capable of creating space and supplying them consistently.
Full-backs are essential to that process.
When opponents defend centrally, Liverpool need width.
When wingers move inside, full-backs often provide the outside passing option.
When the full-backs push forward, however, someone must protect the space they leave behind.
This is where tactical balance becomes crucial.
If Liverpool keep their full-backs deep, they may lose some attacking width.
If they push both forward, they increase the risk of counter-attacks.
Iraola therefore has to find the correct compromise.
The Midfield Problem Is Connected
Liverpool’s midfield concerns cannot be completely separated from the full-back issue.
The club did not make a major central-midfield signing during the summer, despite questions about balance and defensive protection.
Recent analysis has highlighted the lack of a specialist defensive midfielder as one of the team’s structural concerns.
That becomes particularly important when the full-backs advance.
A defensive midfielder can provide cover when possession is lost.
Without that specialist protection, Liverpool’s defenders and central midfielders may have to cover larger spaces.
This can make the entire defensive structure look worse.
In other words, Liverpool’s full-back problem may not be purely about the full-backs themselves.
It can also be a system problem.
Iraola Has a Difficult Tactical Puzzle
The arrival of Iraola was supposed to bring a more aggressive identity to Liverpool.
His Bournemouth teams were known for intensity, pressing and quick transitions.
Liverpool have already shown signs of that philosophy.
But implementing an aggressive system at Anfield comes with enormous expectations.
The players must understand exactly when to press, when to retreat and when to protect space.
If one part of the structure breaks, the entire team can become vulnerable.
That is why the full-back issue deserves attention.
It is not simply about whether Kerkez or Frimpong can defend one-on-one.
It is about whether the players around them can compensate for their positioning.
Liverpool Need to Find the Right Balance
Recent results have provided mixed evidence.
Liverpool remain capable of producing strong performances, and their 3-1 Carabao Cup victory over Tottenham showed that the team can still create attacking momentum and control matches.
However, their Premier League start has been less convincing.
Liverpool drew against Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and Fulham during their first four league matches, leaving Iraola with plenty to solve.
The team has remained competitive, but consistency remains an issue.
That makes tactical balance increasingly important.
Could Araujo Become the Answer?
Ronald Araujo could provide Iraola with a more defensive option at right-back.
Using him there may reduce Liverpool’s attacking threat from that side, but it could also provide greater defensive security.
That is the trade-off.
Similarly, Liverpool could choose to keep Kerkez but modify how aggressively he attacks.
Or they could look toward the transfer market again.
Reports of interest in Alejandro Balde suggest Liverpool may already be considering another solution.
Liverpool Cannot Afford to Waste Another Window
The January transfer window could therefore become important.
Liverpool do not necessarily need to replace every player who has struggled.
Footballers can improve, particularly under a new manager and within a different tactical structure.
But the club needs to identify exactly what is preventing the team from functioning at its best.
The answer may involve the full-backs.
It may involve midfield protection.
Or it may be a combination of both.
Recent comments from former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy have added to the pressure, with Murphy arguing that Kerkez and Frimpong are not currently providing the quality Liverpool need from their full-back positions.
What This Means for Liverpool
Liverpool’s situation is fascinating because the club has invested heavily in creating a new generation.
The attack contains expensive and talented players.
The centre of defence has also been rebuilt.
But the full-back positions remain unsettled.
For Cambodian Premier League fans watching the Premier League, this is an area worth monitoring closely.
When Liverpool face stronger opponents, teams are likely to test the spaces around their full-backs.
If Kerkez and Frimpong improve their positioning and decision-making, the conversation could change quickly.
If the problems continue, Liverpool may have to return to the transfer market.
Final Thoughts
Liverpool’s biggest problem may not be as simple as one underperforming player.
The bigger issue is balance.
The club has attempted to rebuild almost every area of the squad, but the transition from Robertson and Alexander-Arnold has created an unexpected tactical challenge.
Kerkez and Frimpong possess qualities that Liverpool wanted, particularly athleticism and attacking ambition.
The question is whether those qualities can be integrated into a defensive structure capable of competing consistently at the highest level.
Recent reporting suggests that opponents, analysts and former players are increasingly identifying the full-back areas as a weakness.
The next step belongs to Liverpool.
Iraola has to decide whether the solution is tactical, personnel-based, or both.
For now, the biggest question around Anfield is not whether Liverpool have enough attacking talent — it is whether their defensive structure can give that talent the platform it needs.
