Andoni Iraola refuses to hold back on the two positions Liverpool must reinforce this transfer window

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With pre-season underway and the lack of cover at both right-back and central defence has forced the coaching staff into contingency planning.Addressing the right-back dilemma in Chicago, Iraola outlined the delicate balance between trusting returning players and reacting to reality.Speaking at the press conference on Tuesday he stated:"I think it depends on Conor’s situation," Iraola explained. "At the end, if you have a fully fit, healthy Conor Bradley, we are very happy, ready to go and we would not be asking ourselves these questions."I think it’s a situation that is tricky, because we trust Conor in the long term, we know we want him to be our right-back, but right now he is still, I would say, a little bit far from returning.

So, with the centre-back, with the right-back situation, in terms of defensive depth, we are, I think, very thin right now. So I think it’s a solution that we are trying to find, yes."The strategic challenge facing FSG and the transfer committee is balancing short-term fixes with long-term financial disciplineYet entering the opening weeks of the season under-staffed carries immense tactical risk."No, I think it’s difficult to say a number when the market is open, and you have to be always open to new options to improve the squad," Iraola expanded when asked to quantify his ideal remaining business."There are obvious situations that we know where we need to sign players.

But there are other situations that we will have to analyse what the market gives you, what’s the cost, how we also see the players we have. We have some tricky positions where we have injured players that we trust but is still not the ideal situation.