I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this – but we could do with signing a right-back.

Picture the day that we line up with fast, agile and cultured back 4 capable of playing front-foot, big club style football.  The defensive line moves higher up the pitch, our midfield gets closer to the forwards – and our wide playmakers in Grealish, Ndiaye and Dibling have passing options on the outside.  This is a key part of our transformation into a big club - and a key part of a transformation into a club that scores goals.

In Branthwaite and O’Brien, we might well have the centre-backs for the job. In Aznou, who knows... we may have picked up our long-term left-back on the cheap.  But at right-back we have no-one.

So, in the vain hope that we finally buy in (or loan) what we’ve needed since March 2017 (when Seamus broke his leg), here’s a quick look at what might be available in January.

Not to be…

Acheampong: elegant, classy 19-year-old at Chelsea who is surely destined for a brilliant International and Champions League career.  I was hoping he’d be frozen out and available on loan but probably not to be.

Bradley: dynamic 22-year-old with plenty of guts and skill. Despite Frimpong’s arrival at Liverpool, he’s also still getting plenty of games.  Exactly the sort of player our fans would love.  Seems out of the question that he’d leave Anfield for us.

Boey: cultured French right-back for Bayern Munich who took a little while to settle after arriving from Turkey.  Despite Bayern’s use of converted midfielder Laimer at right-back, he’s still getting plenty of games. Currently linked with Juventus.  Seems a long shot.

Short term options…

Mazraoui: 27-year-old largely restricted to limited minutes as a sub at Man Utd. Cultured and versatile player – albeit not without flaws. Would be a bit underwhelming but could be quite good as a try-before-you-buy loan.

Rensch: 22-year-old largely restricted to limited minutes as a sub, behind Celik and Wesley at Roma. Fast and dynamic player.  Not a bad option on a try before you buy loan. I thought he might come in summer but it obviously didn’t happen.

Assist kings…

Costa: 5 assists in 6 games for Porto, the 22-year-old is a really classy option. However, he’s only just returned to Portugal in a £12m deal from Juventus in July.  So would seem an unlikely move in January.

Van Ewijk: 5 assists in 9 games for 25-year-old Dutch right-back in his third season at Coventry. Probably deserves a step up. Exactly the sort of player Moyes has done well with previously. Unfortunately, Coventry’s current promotion form means they might be unwilling to sell.

Huescas: 4 assists in 10 games for the 22-year-old Mexican playing for Copenhagen. Obviously, it’s a weaker league than Portugal or the Championship so he might struggle initially. Linked to Dortmund before they bought Couto from City.  Like a few I’ll go on to mention, he could be a brilliant buy if we already had a more established right-back – which would give him a bit of time to acclimatise to a much tougher league.

Touted for moves…

Sanchez: Seville right-back that we (and lots of others) have been looking at for about the last 18 months or so.  22 years old; currently linked with Napoli. Shares the right-back position with Carmona. Got 4 assists in 32 games last season.  Looks like a good player.  Possibly the best all-round option for us.

El Ouahdi: 23-year-old Genk right-back, with 4 goals and 1 assist in 9 games this season – after a strong performance last year in Belgium. Linked with more mid-tier clubs like Wolfsburg, Rennes, Galatasaray, AC Milan and Benfica.

El Hilali: 22-year-old Espanyol right-back. Classy defender and comfortable in attacking positions despite not being big on assists.  Linked with the likes of Arsenal, City, Villa and Brighton in the last 18 months.  He could be a not very glamorous but really sensible option as a mature player defensively with good technique.

Read: Got 7 assists in 26 games for Feyenoord last season.  Still just 19, he should have a big future.  Currently linked with Real Madrid – following links to all the Champions League royalty clubs in the past 18 months.  He’s all set up for a top career and could be a brilliant long-term signing. However, I suspect a right flank of Read and Dibling (talented though it would be) would be too immature initially and too big a risk.  As per Huescas, if only we had a more established right-back as a stop-gap…

Fisher: 21-year-old at Norwich.  0 goals and 0 assists in 8 games.  Linked over summer. Not sure if he is really ready for Premier League football.  Doubt he’d get in the first XI for a single other Premier League club and would possibly remain behind Garner and O’Brien for this position – which doesn’t really take us forward.

Others:

There are probably about 25 or so other very credible right-back options for us – good players with some pace and quality who would be available at modest price (i.e. up to around £25m).  I’m not going to list all them.

Reader Comments (1)

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Mike Gaynes
1 Posted 19/10/2025 at 18:06:32
Robert, of course we need a right back at some point, but the one alternative I strongly oppose is what you call the "very credible" version. We tried to spend £25m for Kenny Tete and James Justin, and fortunately failed, because neither would have made us better. Sitting either Jake or Keane to make room for Tete would have weakened our backline, not strengthened it.

In my view we need both a right back who could instantly change the look and feel of the team on the pitch and a youngster with high potential like Aznou who could be the long-term answer. (The only one I read about this summer who was in the former category was Juanlu Sanchez, and both Tuttomercado and Gazzetta dello Sport report that he already agreed terms with Napoli.)

I just don't see our management spending for that in January. The need is obvious, but not urgent in their view. Moyes clearly believes in Jake, and Coleman and Patterson seem to be considered adequate cover. I doubt we'll see buying activity until next summer, so the only possible route in January would be a loan -- your two short-term options for starters.

As always, your research is appreciated.

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