Liverpool suddenly face a potential shortage in defence, with Jeremy Frimpong expected to be sidelined until December with a hamstring injury. The Reds have already lost Giovanni Leoni to an ACL injury for the season, leaving Joe Gomez as the only experienced back-up to Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate. Gomez, an England international, can also play at full-back on either flank if needed, although manager Arne Slott generally avoided using him in this position during his time at Anfield.
Ahead of Saturday’s game against Aston Villa, the Dutch manager was asked if he had considered using Gomez at right-back to address the team’s ongoing defensive problems. Slott admitted he was prepared to adjust his tactics if necessary, but insisted he saw no reason to change his current strategy yet.
“It goes against my beliefs,” he said. “But I have won games in the past and I can talk about last season away (Manchester) City. It went against my beliefs, but we needed to play like that in the second half.
“In certain situations, I will be flexible and adapt. But I don’t think, at least in my opinion, it’s a case of us conceding goal after chance and being too open. That will never happen.
“I don’t think we’re conceding many chances, but I don’t see any reason to change the style of play completely. But we need to try harder not to concede goals, that’s for sure.”
As a result, it would be somewhat unexpected to see Gomez placed at right-back and Frimpong unavailable.
However, the Dutch star could miss a further seven games, putting even more pressure on Conor Bradley during that time.
Slott may have rested Bradley against Palace with the next game in mind, but expecting him to play every game in Frimpong’s absence is tough, especially given his injury history.
This may explain why Dominik Szoboszlai, one of Liverpool’s standout performers this season, has already been used in an unconventional full-back position several times this term.
The Reds have another option at right back, Calvin Ramsey, should the situation require it.
The forgotten defender made his first appearance for Liverpool against Crystal Palace in three years and was one of his team’s brightest lights on a difficult night, drawing praise from the slot after the game.
“I think Calvin put in a very decent performance,” he said. “Keep calm on the ball. I don’t know if I said it here or not, but I think we actually had more chances than they did (in the first 30 minutes) and he was a part of that. He played calm. It was a decent game for him.”
Having previously flown under the radar, the 22-year-old put in an impressive performance against Palace, suggesting he could provide further cover at right-back in the coming weeks.
However, as he was not included in Liverpool’s squad for the league, he is not eligible to play in the Champions League.
Indeed, if Ramsey were suddenly forced to play a Premier League game, he would likely suffer more injuries.
But after three years without playing for Liverpool, his promising performance against Palace served as a pleasant reminder that the hitherto overlooked Scot is still a viable option.
