Rumor Mongering: Liverpool To Take A Punt On £21M Veteran Right Back

While Liverpool’s first signing of the summer—Victor Muñoz—did not break the bank, it did get Liverpool fans excited, both for the potential of the exciting, young attacker, and what it hinted for Liverpool’s summer transfer plans in attack.

Today’s rumor, on the other hand, won’t be as exciting, but it could be an important piece of the squad building puzzle for The Reds. The rumor is that Liverpool are prepared to trigger Andrei Ratiu’s £21 million release clause from Rayo Vallecano.

Ratiu is a 28-year-old right back with 38 caps for Romania. He was a mainstay for Rayo Vallecano last year, and contributed a goal and four assists along the way.

Although Liverpool’s new manager Andoni Iraola left Rayo Vallecano before Ratiu arrived, it seems certain that he would be keeping tabs with his old club, so he likely knows what he’d be getting with such a transfer.

Liverpool have a lot of work to do in the transfer market this summer. There are question marks—both in terms of fitness and fit—with both Connor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong, and no one wants to see Dominik Szoboszlai deputizing at right back again (especially, one would suspect, the player himself).

So, from a “this manager is going to run the legs off some players and we need more bodies in” perspective, this works, especially if it can be done on the cheap.