Liverpool Targets Rayo Vallecano’s Andrei Rațiu for Right-Back Rebuild
Liverpool’s defensive reshuffle is set to roll on into the summer, with Rayo Vallecano right-back Andrei Rațiu emerging as the next target in a busy window at Anfield.
The club are reportedly preparing an opening bid for the 28-year-old, who has quietly built a reputation as one of La Liga’s most undervalued defenders. Rațiu has racked up 102 appearances for Rayo since arriving three years ago, anchoring a side that punched above its weight both domestically and in Europe.
Iraola turns to a familiar market
Andoni Iraola has already been backed with funds to land Victor Munoz from Osasuna, and the Liverpool manager is ready to dip back into the Spanish market to strengthen his back line.
Right-back is high on his list. Jeremie Frimpong and academy product Conor Bradley are already in place, but Iraola wants sharper competition and a deeper rotation in a position that badly exposed Liverpool last season. According to SportsBoom, Frimpong is still expected to remain first choice, yet Rațiu is viewed as a genuine contender rather than a squad filler.
What that means for Bradley is unclear. The 20-year-old fought his way into the picture last year, but the pursuit of another senior right-back underlines how ruthless this rebuild may become.
A seasoned international, not a gamble
Rațiu brings experience that fits the brief. He has 38 caps for Romania, has been named Romanian Footballer of the Year, and played a central role in Rayo Vallecano’s run to the UEFA Conference League final earlier this year, where they fell to Crystal Palace.
Iraola is said to see him as excellent value in a market where proven defenders are rarely cheap. Rayo, though, hold the cards. The right-back signed a new long-term deal in November 2025 and is under contract for another four years, leaving the La Liga club in a strong position to demand a premium.
Reports suggest Vallecano would look for a fee in the region of £25 million. Liverpool, for their part, are understood to be confident they can find common ground, potentially by structuring a proposal heavy on add-ons to tempt the Spaniards into doing business.
Fixing the Trent-sized hole
The urgency is easy to trace. Liverpool never truly recovered from losing Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid on a free at the end of his contract. Arne Slot, already juggling his first season in charge, watched injuries to both Frimpong and Bradley strip the squad of natural options on the right.
The club lurched into makeshift solutions. Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai both found themselves shunted into an auxiliary right-back role, a tactical compromise that weakened Liverpool’s midfield as much as it patched up the defence. The knock-on effect was brutal as the season unravelled.
No surprise, then, that Iraola has made the position a priority in his first summer at Anfield. A fit Frimpong, a battle-hardened Rațiu and a developing Bradley would give Liverpool a far more robust platform than the emergency rotations that defined last year’s chaos.
Jacquet and Leoni set to return
The Rațiu pursuit comes against the backdrop of a broader defensive overhaul. Liverpool are expected to confirm another new arrival next week when Jeremy Jacquet completes his £55 million move to Merseyside. The French defender agreed to leave Rennes on deadline day of the winter window, with all parties deciding he would finish the season in Ligue 1 before heading to the Premier League.
His transition has not been straightforward. Jacquet suffered a serious shoulder injury shortly after news of his impending transfer broke, but The Athletic reports his rehabilitation is on track and he should be ready for initial pre-season testing early next month.
There is more good news at centre-back. Giovanni Leoni, the 19-year-old who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on his debut against Southampton in the Carabao Cup last September, is also understood to be on course to return in time for the start of pre-season.
If Liverpool can now prise Rațiu from Vallecano to finally stabilise the right flank, Iraola’s back line will look very different by the time the new campaign kicks off – and so will the expectations around it.
