Liverpool's Pursuit of Hector Fort: A Right-Back Solution

Liverpool’s defensive rebuild is already well under way, but the work on the right flank is clearly not finished yet.

Jeremy Jacquet has arrived from Rennes to bolster the center of defense. Ronald Araujo has come in on loan from Barcelona, offering cover both in the middle and at right-back. Useful, smart business. But temporary. And that’s the issue.

Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong have both been dogged by injury problems, leaving Liverpool light in a position that demands reliability. Araujo’s loan plugs a gap, it doesn’t solve a long-term problem. So the recruitment team is still looking beyond this season.

That search has led them back to Barcelona and to a name that keeps surfacing: Hector Fort.

A La Masia right-back on the market

Fort is a right-back on the books at Barcelona, a product of La Masia and very much shaped by that schooling. Born in Barcelona on August 2, 2006, he grew up in the city, started out at Anguera, and joined Barça’s academy at the age of seven. The classic local-boy path, straight into one of the game’s most demanding talent factories.

He has stayed there ever since. Signed in 2013, Fort climbed through the youth levels before earning his first major break with the B team in 2023. That same year, he stepped onto the biggest stage of all: a senior debut in the Champions League against Royal Antwerp.

From there, his involvement steadily grew. Fort has made 30 appearances for Barcelona across all competitions, enough to show coaches and scouts what he can offer, but not enough to cement himself as an untouchable starter in a stacked squad.

To accelerate his development, Barcelona sent him on loan to Elche for the 2025/26 season. It was meant to be a full campaign of regular football. Instead, injuries cut into his rhythm. He still managed 17 appearances, but those fitness setbacks limited what could have been a defining year before he returned to Camp Nou.

Why Liverpool are watching

For all that, the view on Fort is clear: there is potential. Plenty of it. Yet Barcelona are believed to be open to a sale this summer. With three years left on his contract, the timing is deliberate. Clubs know there is room to negotiate, and Barcelona know this might be the moment to cash in.

That’s where Liverpool come in.

Right-back has become a pressure point in their squad planning. They need someone who can grow into the role, not just cover it for a few months. Fort fits the profile of a modern full-back shaped in possession-heavy football, comfortable in build-up and with the athletic profile to patrol an entire flank.

Liverpool are among the clubs weighing up a move, exploring whether Barcelona’s willingness to deal can be turned into a long-term solution on Merseyside.

The window closes on September 1. If Liverpool decide Hector Fort is the right answer, they won’t wait much longer to make their move.