If there’s one position in the Liverpool first-team which has benefited from the youth side in recent years, then it’s right-back.
The Reds have been covered in the position for much of the last decade, with the academy providing plenty of senior solutions.
Clearly, Trent Alexander-Arnold is the most significant example of this. But with the 26-year-old set to end a 20-year association with Liverpool this summer, he’s leaving Arne Slot a little high and dry.
Fellow Liverpool academy graduate Conor Bradley is set to pick up the slack, with the Northern Irishman ready for a heightened role in 2025/26.
But Slot needs help for Bradley. There have been plenty of suggestions that this could come via the transfer window, of course, but before Liverpool do dip into market, they would be wise to assess if they can solve the problem through the youth team.
Before Bradley, Neco Williams was Alexander-Arnold’s number two and has since gone on to have a stellar Premier League career himself. So, as history looks to repeat itself, exactly who are the right-backs Slot will be casting his eye over?
DJ Esdaille
It would be a shame for Liverpool to break the tradition which started with Alexander-Arnold in 2016 and has since gone on to involve both Bradley and Williams.
And if they are to promote from within rather than recruit this summer, perhaps the best placed to capitalise on that is DJ Esdaille.
As Esdaille is still only 17, some may consider him a little too young to be eyed up by the first-team. But Alexander-Arnold was younger than Esdaille is now when he made his senior bow.
One thing that may count against the Scouser is that he is still exclusively playing with the U18s, meaning he’d have to miss out the U21s and progress straight to the senior side.
That is not an unprecedented leap, though, and Liverpoolfc.com’s description of Esdaille as an ‘attacking full-back who loves to get forward and supply assists’ makes him sound like a perfect fit for Slot.
This summer may ultimately come a little too soon for the teenager, but he’s certainly one who should be on the radar.
Josh Davidson
Aside from Esdaille, the most natural right-back in the Liverpool academy just now is Josh Davidson.
At 19, Davidson is at the right kind of age to make the breakthrough if it is ever going to happen for him.
Described as being ‘tough and tenacious,’ the youngster has also long since had his eye on emulating Alexander-Arnold at Liverpool.
“Obviously he [Alexander-Arnold] followed the path that I’m trying to go on and he’s a great role model to look up to,” Davidson told Liverpoolfc.com in January 2024. “I don’t think anybody else could play that role better than him, to be honest.”
Davidson has been with the U21s this season where he has been a regular under Barry Lewtas.
Any other options?
While Davidson and Esdaille are the two most natural options, Slot could also look to re-tool several other players to do a job as Bradley’s back-up.
Wellity Lucky is one such option. Lucky has been described as ‘rock-solid‘ by Lewtas for his performances in the UEFA Youth League this season and although the 19-year-old was mainly used as a centre-back alongside Amara Nallo, he can also play at right-back.
Another centre-back who could play out on the right is 18-year-old Lucas Pitt. Largely turning out for the U18s, though, it would be a big jump for Pitt to make.
Meanwhile, on loan players such as Calvin Ramsay should not yet be fully discounted, and Luca Stephenson impressed Slot at right-back last summer.
Since moving to Dundee United, Stephenson has played as a central midfielder, but looked comfortable during his outings in defence for Liverpool.
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