Liverpool Eyeing Barcelona's Héctor Fort as Defensive Reinforcement

Liverpool’s defensive rebuild looked close to done. Ronald Araújo arrived as the experienced, flexible option: a natural centre-half who can shuffle across to right-back when needed. On paper, that kind of signing usually slams the door on more business in the same area.

Spain is suggesting otherwise.

Reports from Sport claim Barcelona youngster Héctor Fort has appeared on Liverpool’s radar. The 20-year-old right-back is suddenly being linked with half of Europe—Inter Milan, Fulham, Tottenham all mentioned in the same breath. That kind of scattergun list often says more about the market noise than a concrete move, but it does underline one thing: Fort is available, and clubs know it.

The strongest pull, though, is coming from across Stanley Park.

Everton are being framed as the leading contenders for his signature. Fort has been at Barcelona for the best part of a decade, climbing through La Masia and into the senior setup. He already has 24 first-team appearances, with 20 of those coming in the 2024-25 campaign, and spent last season on loan at Elche to sharpen his edge in senior football.

Not long ago, he was talked about as the heir apparent at right-back for the Catalan club. That narrative has shifted. Inside Barcelona, the buzz has moved toward fellow prospect Xavi Espart as the likelier long-term solution on that flank. With that internal hierarchy changing, Fort’s path has narrowed—and the transfer market has opened up around him.

If Everton turn that interest into a deal, they won’t just be signing a prospect from Barcelona’s academy. They’ll be taking a player once tipped as the future of the position at Camp Nou, now looking for a new club to prove that prediction wasn’t wrong, just premature.