Hector Fort: Liverpool's Target for Right-Back Reinforcement
Liverpool’s defensive rebuild is already well under way, but the search for a long-term answer at right-back has taken the club’s scouts back to Barcelona and a familiar production line: La Masia. This time, the name on the list is Hector Fort.
Jeremy Jacquet has arrived from Rennes to bolster the center of defense. Ronald Araujo is in on loan from Barcelona, offering cover both in the middle and on the right. Yet the picture at right-back still feels fragile. Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong have both battled persistent injuries, and Araujo’s stay is only temporary. The short-term gaps are plugged. The future is not.
That’s where Fort comes in.
A La Masia full-back on the market
Hector Fort is a right-back on Barcelona’s books, a modern defender shaped by the academy that has defined so many careers. Born in Barcelona on August 2, 2006, he grew up in the city and its football culture, starting out at Anguera before Barcelona moved to bring him into La Masia at just seven years old.
He has been theirs ever since. No buy-back clauses, no complicated co-ownerships, no detours through satellite clubs. Just a straight-line rise through one of the most demanding youth systems in world football.
Breaking through at Barcelona
Fort’s real breakthrough came in 2023, when he earned his chance with Barcelona’s B team. That same year, he stepped onto the biggest stage of all: a senior debut in the Champions League against Royal Antwerp. For a young full-back, that is a ruthless test of temperament as much as talent.
From there, he began to pick up minutes around the first team. Across all competitions, Fort has made 30 appearances for Barcelona, a solid platform for a player still at the start of his professional journey.
The club then chose a familiar path for his next step: a loan move. For the 2025/26 season, Fort joined Elche, seeking regular football and the kind of week-to-week rhythm that a young defender needs to harden his game.
He managed 17 appearances in that spell. It could have been more. Injuries cut into his season and stalled his momentum, the kind of early-career setback that can either derail a prospect or sharpen his resolve. When the loan ended, he returned to the Nou Camp still with a reputation for promise, but without his long-term role in the squad clearly defined.
An opening for Liverpool
That uncertainty has opened a door. Barcelona is believed to be willing to listen to offers for Fort this summer, despite his potential and the fact he still has three years remaining on his contract with the Blaugrana.
Clubs across Europe have taken note, and Liverpool is among those monitoring the situation closely. For a side wrestling with the balance of its back line and wary of relying on short-term fixes, a 20-year-old right-back with La Masia schooling and top-level experience is an obvious target.
Liverpool’s recruitment has already addressed center-back depth with Jacquet and the short-term versatility of Araujo. Right-back, though, remains the problem position. Bradley and Frimpong cannot yet be counted on for an uninterrupted season, and Araujo’s loan will end.
Fort represents something different: a long-range solution, still moldable, already tested, and potentially available before the window closes on September 1.
The question now is simple and sharp. With Barcelona ready to deal and time ticking down, will Liverpool move from interest to action and make Hector Fort the next piece of their defensive future?
