Fabrizio Romano has said that Liverpool boast a ‘huge talent’ within their squad who’s set to be entrusted as the ‘next big thing’ at Anfield.
The Reds have been left reeling by the news on Tuesday that Trent Alexander-Arnold is reportedly close to agreeing a free transfer to Real Madrid, with his contract on Merseyside expiring in three months’ time.
That’d leave Conor Bradley as the only natural senior right-back in Arne Slot’s squad, and rumours of a potential move for Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong have resurfaced again in recent days.
However, Romano believes that Liverpool will put their faith in the Northern Ireland international to step up as their starting right-back, just as Trent did when supplanting Nathaniel Clyne in 2017.
What has Romano said about Bradley?
Speaking on the Here We Go podcast, the journalist outlined: “In terms of right-back, what I’m hearing is that they are very happy with Conor Bradley. They believe that Conor Bradley can be part of this future Liverpool squad. They believe he’s a huge talent.
“The responsibility of being the starting right-back at Liverpool is going to be completely different, but they feel this boy has everything in place in order to become an important player for Arne Slot.
“I was there at Anfield, Liverpool-Real Madrid game in November, I think, November, December, I don’t remember. There was a tackle from Conor Bradley and the reaction from the crowd, the reaction from Anfield, I think was the perfect start of a new story.
“That moment shows how Liverpool as a club, but also as a fan base, is ready to trust this boy, is ready to trust Conor Bradley. Then let’s see what they do on the market, but Conor Bradley internally is considered the next big thing at right-back and they fully trust him for the future.”
Bradley is an excellent player but Liverpool still need another right-back
Do we believe that Bradley is a viable option as Liverpool’s starting right-back? Absolutely.
The 21-year-old has stepped up commendably when deputising for Trent in the past (Romano rightly referenced that famous challenge on Kylian Mbappe at Anfield this season), and while the responsibility of holding down the position on a long-term basis brings a different challenge, we believe our number 84 would be up to it.
However, the one thing which seems likeliest to hold him back is his worrying propensity for injury. He’s already missed 47 matches since the start of the 2023/24 campaign with various issues, and his international boss Michael O’Neill recently hinted that his focus is ‘on trying to get fit for the end of the season’.
Liverpool would be taking a massive risk by going into next term with the talented but brittle Bradley as their only natural senior right-back, a far from ideal state of affairs even with Jarell Quansah and Joe Gomez capable of deputising in that position.
We therefore expect the Reds to be serious about recruiting another option for that part of the squad, whether that’s someone to have as backup (similar to the acquisition of Kostas Tsimikas in 2020) or to vie with the Northern Ireland gem for a starting berth.
I know he is going to be better than Trent. As much as Trent was at his best but defencely was poor. Against PSG he was left for dead but Bradley’s one tackle against Mbabe showed he is no nonsense and won’t be easy to get by .
Yes you are right but mind you, these past years where Liverpool has been a major contender in both premier League and champions League football. Trent has had a major role in the team attacking play.
Can Bradley replace him in that aspect
Yes
Am a Liverpool fan since my boyhood and i have been following.So i think Bradley can fit in Trent,boots well
Statistically a higher percentage of players have dribbled past Bradley than Trent. He also is down on duels won.
So, purely based on this season’s data – as a percentage, Bradley is an inferior defender. He also provides none of the attacking threat.
Cannot believe he is being hawked around as our solution at right-back. He could be another one season wonder like Bajetic. If he can stay fit that is.
And yet Bajetic is getting rave reviews in the Spanish press.
Bajeti only in loan 🤔 super talent YNWA
It’s a case where statistics doesn’t give the true picture if this the case.
‘He also provides none of the attacking threat’ ?? Rubbish. Bradley is a top class operator with the ball, and has a good shot to boot. His style is different, because Bradley carries the ball with him (because he is much faster than Trent) and it is a different style to Trent’s reliance on worldie through balls, but the attacking threat is absolutely there. Ditto your comments on their respective defending abilities are rubbish. Bradley is faster, far more aggressive and has better tackling and heading skills, and is much faster and more aggressive in recovery, where Trent just ambles back as if defending is beneath him. So, summary is ‘much better defender, and different style attacker’, though obviously lacking Trent’s freakish passing’. .
keep taking the medication and never take the tinfoil hat off…meanwhile the rest of us will be backing Bradley
He’s a great player and he won’t be looking to go to msdtid with his bum chin ynwa
Romano knows about as much as I do, sees himself as some sort of transfer guru, a legend in his own mind
Bradley is excellent, his cover play is much better than trent’s is, but my only concern is that he gets injured quite a lot, so we are still going to need a top right back for cover or to fight for that spot.
Their attributes are almost the same..bt Conor has th urge..! Why..Trent attacks well..at his age..and poor defensively..at his age..Conor attacks poorly at his age..and defends well at his age..and is definitely going to improve in both..whereas Trent is already on the ageing scale..l cant see him improving his defencive attribute…YNWA!
Bradley is better than Trent as a defender. Did you see how Doku mesmerized Trent when we played Man City. Yes Trent can pass the ball ,break defenses and shoot. Bradley has shown he is going to be a much better player overall. One full season in the position and everyone will see his capabilities.
Bradley is a fledgling talent that will soon stun the football world on two conditions: having more playtime and developing more defensive guile that would reduce his frequency of getting injured.
I rate Bradley very very highly as well. He might not have the range of passes that Arnold has but he’s a much better defender already and a better footballer than Arnold was at his age. I was half expecting him to push Arnold aside this season and probably would have without the injury. He probably needs to beef himself up a bit but that will come with time and games. I’m really excited for him and the club…. Also we’ve got a ready made stand-in for him at the club already so I don’t think we’ll miss Trent much and we won’t need to spend a penny on the right-back position either.
Bradley is our new cog let that snitch Trend to go for good