Victor Munoz Gives Liverpool a Real Right-Back Option Under Andoni Iraola

Victor Munoz arrived without much noise. That usually tells you one of two things. Either the recruitment team have spotted something others missed, or the player is about to be exposed at a level he cannot handle. So far, for Liverpool, it looks far more like the first option.

Signed from Osasuna after his release clause was triggered in June, the 23-year-old did not arrive with much fanfare. He was fast, relatively cheap and largely unfamiliar to plenty of supporters. That profile has worked for Liverpool before. It may be working again.

Against Brentford on Saturday, Munoz was one of Liverpool’s best performers. He began in his usual advanced role on the right, then ended up scoring the equaliser from right-back as Liverpool came from behind to win. That matters, because Liverpool still do not have total clarity in that position, and Munoz may have handed Andoni Iraola a solution that was not obvious a few weeks ago.

Right-back role now looks more than a stop-gap

There is no mystery around what Munoz wants to be. He is an attacking player. He wants to receive the ball high, run at defenders and affect games in the final third. But football is full of wide players who have dropped deeper and extended their value. Jesus Navas did it. Others have done it before and after him. The point is simple, if you have pace, recovery speed, work rate and enough intelligence to defend one against one, the transition is possible.

Munoz has already shown parts of that profile. Even before he was moved deliberately to right-back against Brentford, he had been doing a fair amount of recovery defending from the wing. With Ronald Araujo often narrowing into a right centre-back position, Munoz has had to cover wider spaces and track runners. It has not all been perfect. He could have done more against Jeremy Doku last weekend. But over several matches, he has looked willing and broadly competent when asked to do the ugly side of the game.

That is the first requirement. The second is whether he can actually defend with enough aggression and timing. Early signs say yes. He has already won 27 duels this season, which puts him in the top 23% of Premier League wingers, and he has made five interceptions, placing him among the best 14%. Those numbers do not prove he is suddenly an elite full-back, but they do tell you he is not allergic to defensive work.

They also support what is visible on the pitch. He gets back quickly, he competes, and he does not shy away from contact. That gives Iraola something to think about.

Victor Munoz offers more balance than current alternatives

Liverpool still want Conor Bradley to own the position when he is fit. That much is obvious. The problem is that fitness cannot be treated as a small detail when a player has spent so long out. Bradley’s absence is approaching a year, and until he proves he can handle regular football again, he remains a plan rather than a certainty.

Araujo has filled in, and not badly, but he is still better suited to centre-back. You can survive with him at right-back, but you are not getting the best version of the player, and Liverpool’s build-up can become lopsided. Jeremie Frimpong brings speed, but there are obvious tactical limitations there too. He is dangerous going forward, less convincing when the game asks for defensive structure and control.

Munoz may offer more balance than either in this specific setup. Like Frimpong, his pace is a major asset. Unlike Frimpong, he looks a more natural dribbler in tight areas and more capable of carrying Liverpool up the pitch from deeper starting positions. That matters in modern full-back play, particularly under a coach who wants width, pressing and direct progression.

If Munoz starts deeper, Liverpool can still use his running power while opening space ahead of him. His equaliser against Brentford underlined the point. He can affect the game from that zone, and not simply by defending it.

Rio Ngumoha fit changes the equation on Liverpool’s right

There is another reason this deserves a proper trial, and it is not only about solving right-back. It is about getting the best players into the side together.

Iraola said after the win over LASK that using Frimpong at right-back changes the demands on the right winger. That player has to drift infield more often while the full-back provides the outside run. The same principle applied when Munoz dropped deeper against Brentford.

That setup suits Rio Ngumoha. He was very good against LASK, and again when he came on against Brentford. He looks ready for more minutes, maybe even a starting place. The issue for Iraola is that Munoz also deserves to stay in the team after bright displays against Manchester City and Brentford.

With Bradley Barcola and Alexander Isak likely to be regulars in the attack, competition is tight. There is basically one open slot if everyone is fit. Dropping Munoz to right-back could solve that. It would allow Ngumoha and Munoz to start together, potentially locking down the right side with one player stretching the game from deep and the other operating inside or between lines.

That is not a small tactical detail. It is squad building in real time.

Andoni Iraola has a clear call to make

Cody Gakpo is coming back into the picture, and that will affect the attacking rotation. He was on the bench at the Gtech Community Stadium and should be pushing for involvement again soon. But that does not really change the larger point. Liverpool have an opening at right-back, and Munoz may be the most credible internal answer right now.

There are still questions, of course. Can he defend the back post consistently, can he manage his positioning over 90 minutes, and can he cope against elite wide players every week? Those are proper questions. The only sensible way to answer them is to play him there.

Iraola has decisions to make ahead of Villarreal, Brighton and Arsenal. Frimpong’s injury has reduced his room for rotation. That may force the issue, but sometimes that is how useful ideas emerge.

Munoz was signed as a winger. That is still probably how he sees himself. It may not matter. If Liverpool have stumbled across a right-back who can defend adequately, drive the team forward and keep another talented attacker in the XI, then the conversation changes. Quickly.

For now, this is not hype. It is a practical option, and a sensible one. Liverpool should explore it properly.