Liverpool have had a positive start to the season, although Andoni Iraola would have preferred that some of the draws had been victories. – 9 points from 5 games is of course not optimal, but far better than many of their rivals.
Liverpool have delivered impressive wins in the Champions League and EFL Cup against Atlético Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur respectively, but they have drawn three of their five Premier League games so far.
However, Iraola is still unbeaten as manager of the Merseyside club, and the Spaniard will build on that when they host Manchester City at Anfield right after the extended international break – before they travel to Austria three days later to face LASK in the Champions League.
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The Merseyside club did good business in the summer transfer window, with Bradley Barcola arriving in another big transfer from Paris Saint-Germain, while Jeremy Jacquet already looks like a top signing after joining Anfield in the summer, after the Reds bosses agreed a deal for him in the January window.
One of the other big arrivals was Ronald Araújo on a season-long loan from Barcelona, with the Uruguayan known to be a versatile defender.
The 193-centimetre giant has centre-back as his primary position, but he can also play right-back – something he has already shown in the early weeks of his Liverpool career.
Araújo took Liverpool to the Premier League
| Matches | Starter | Minutes | Goals conceded on the pitch | xG courage on the pitch | Clearings | Duels won | Aerial duels won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 3 | 285 | 0 | 2,75 | 14 | 26 | 18 |
The 27-year-old has started Liverpool’s last four games in the full-back position and impressed, while keeping Jeremie Frimpong out of the team.
The Dutchman continues to promise more than he delivers after his move from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025, and has only played 18 minutes of the last three Premier League games.
While Conor Bradley is still on his way back from injury, the right-back looks like a key area for Iraola and Liverpool to fix in 2027 – and they may have already found the perfect candidate.
If Araújo continues to make a positive difference at right-back, it could give Liverpool a decision to make when it comes to signing him permanently at the end of the season.
There will continue to be links with Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is still struggling to secure a regular place in Real Madrid’s starting eleven after a year in the Spanish capital – although a potential return to Anfield is likely to face some resistance.
Perhaps the most sensible thing would be to bring back another former player: Jarell Quansah.
Like Araújo, the 23-year-old’s natural position is centre-back, but he continues to make a name for himself as a right-back for both Bayer Leverkusen and England.
Quansah’s record for Bayer Leverkusen
| Matches | Objectives | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 5 | 1 |
It wasn’t a vintage performance by England’s defence in the 3-2 loss to Spain at Wembley on Saturday night, but Quansah was one of the defenders who came out of the game with some honour intact.
He had a couple of moments where he really lost concentration, including one of Ferran Torres’ misses and Spain’s third goal, but he also had some success going forward on the right.
The Warrington-born defender also had a great chance to score his first international goal when he headed over from an unmarked position in the sixteen-yard box – and Tuchel was impressed with what he saw from the 23-year-old.
“We needed Jarell Quansah’s speed and ability to think like a centre-back. He [Quansah] was top class at the World Cup, he was top class in training this week, he was excellent in this game.”
Liverpool didn’t make use of the £60m buy-back clause they had for Quansah in the summer, but it remains valid and drops to £55m in 2027 – giving the Reds another chance to bring him back to Anfield.
There are many positive reasons to do so. One of them is that Arsenal also looked at him before they brought in Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa.
The Gunners are currently one of Europe’s best defensive teams, and if they considered him, it is confirmation that he is a very good player.
With Virgil van Dijk a year older, Joe Gomez’s persistent injury problems and no guarantee that Liverpool will sign Araújo permanently, they are sparsely occupied at both centre-back and right-back positions ahead of the 2027/28 season – and Quansah solves two problems with one solution.
The other big advantage is that he is considered a homegrown player, which is very important for top clubs in the Premier League in modern times.
Apparently, Quansah is also ready for the transfer, given that the Liverpool Echo claim that personal terms are already in place, should the Reds choose to exercise their option.
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