Liverpool Targets Rayo Vallecano's Rațiu for Right-Back Rebuild
Liverpool’s reshaping of their defence is set to move onto its next target, with the club preparing an opening bid for Rayo Vallecano right-back Andrei Rațiu this summer.
Andoni Iraola, already backed to bring in Victor Munoz from Osasuna, is looking back to La Liga to fix a position that undermined Liverpool’s campaign last season. The plan is clear: strengthen the flanks, tighten the structure, and make sure a crisis at right-back does not derail another year.
On paper, Liverpool look stocked. Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley are in place as recognised right-backs. In reality, both spent too much time in the treatment room last season, forcing Arne Slot into awkward improvisation and exposing the lack of depth in a key area.
That is where Rațiu comes in.
Rațiu: La Liga’s quiet constant
At 28, Rațiu is no prospect. He is a fully formed defender with a body of work behind him. Since joining Rayo Vallecano three years ago, he has racked up 102 appearances in Spain’s top flight, quietly building a reputation as one of La Liga’s most underrated performers.
He brings something Liverpool have lacked on that side since Trent Alexander-Arnold left for Real Madrid at the end of his contract: reliability. Rațiu has become a fixture for both club and country, earning 38 caps for Romania and even being named Romanian Footballer of the Year.
His influence at Rayo peaked earlier this year when he helped drive the club to the UEFA Conference League final, where they eventually fell to Crystal Palace. That run underlined his temperament on big nights as much as his consistency across a season.
SportsBoom report that while Frimpong is still expected to remain first-choice next season, Iraola wants someone capable of pushing him hard, not simply covering minutes. Rațiu is viewed as that level of competitor, a defender ready to step straight into the Premier League rather than grow into it.
What that would mean for academy graduate Bradley is unclear. The Northern Ireland international has already shown he can perform at senior level, but a move for Rațiu would tighten the squeeze on his pathway to regular starts.
Vallecano hold the cards – for now
From a market perspective, Iraola is said to see Rațiu as excellent value. That does not mean he will come cheap.
Vallecano are understood to be seeking a fee in the region of £25 million for the right-back and, crucially, they are in a strong position to demand it. Rațiu signed a new long-term deal in November 2025, tying him to the club for another four years. There is no pressure to sell, no looming contract stand-off, no bargain to be had by waiting.
Liverpool, though, are confident they can find a way through. The expectation is that any proposal would be structured with significant add-ons, allowing Vallecano to bank a solid guaranteed fee and still benefit if Rațiu thrives in England.
For a player with his experience, international pedigree and recent European run, the numbers make sense in the current market. The question is whether Liverpool push hard enough, and fast enough, to test Vallecano’s resolve.
Lessons from a broken right flank
Last season’s issues at right-back still loom large over Anfield. Alexander-Arnold’s departure to Madrid left a creative and structural void. Injuries to Frimpong and Bradley then turned a concern into a full-blown problem.
Slot, short of options, had to rip up his midfield to plug the gap. Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai both spent time in an auxiliary right-back role, a tactical compromise that weakened Liverpool’s engine room and disrupted their rhythm. The season began to unravel as makeshift solutions became the norm.
It is no surprise, then, that Iraola has reportedly made the position a priority in his first summer in charge. Liverpool cannot afford another campaign defined by patchwork defending on one side of the pitch.
Jacquet, Leoni and a new-look back line
Rațiu would not arrive in isolation. Liverpool’s defensive rebuild is already in motion.
The club will confirm another major addition next week when Jeremy Jacquet completes his £55 million move from Rennes. The French defender agreed the transfer on deadline day of the winter window, with all parties settling on a delayed arrival so he could finish the season in Ligue 1.
A serious shoulder injury soon followed, raising immediate questions about his availability for pre-season. Those concerns have eased. His rehabilitation is said to be on track, and he is expected to be ready for initial pre-season tests early next month.
There is more good news at centre-back. Giovanni Leoni, the 19-year-old who tore his ACL in his left knee on his debut against Southampton in the Carabao Cup last September, is also understood to be on course to return for the start of pre-season. He has not played since that night, but his recovery is finally aligning with Liverpool’s planning.
Put together, it points to a very different defensive unit taking shape under Iraola: Jacquet bedding in, Leoni returning, Frimpong and Bradley fit again, and potentially Rațiu arriving to raise the standard at right-back.
Liverpool know how much last season’s instability at the back cost them. The next move in this rebuild could be decisive: do they turn admiration for Rațiu into a concrete bid that reshapes their right flank for years, or risk watching another solution line up somewhere else in the Premier League?
