Liverpool Eyes Barcelona's Hector Fort for Right-Back Position

Liverpool’s defensive rebuild is already well under way, but the work on the right side of the back line is far from finished.

Jeremy Jacquet has arrived from Rennes to bolster the center of defense. Ronald Araujo is in on loan from Barcelona, a versatile stopgap who can cover both centre-back and right-back. Useful, yes. Permanent, no. And with Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong wrestling with persistent injuries, the problem area on the team sheet keeps circling back to the same position.

So Liverpool is looking again to Barcelona. This time, to a younger, less heralded name: Hector Fort.

Who is Hector Fort?

Hector Fort is a right-back on the books at Barcelona, a local product in every sense. Born in Barcelona on August 2, 2006, he is 20 years old and only just stepping into the early chapters of his professional career.

He started out with Anguera, a modest beginning in a city obsessed with the ball, before Barcelona’s scouts brought him into La Masia at the age of seven. From that moment, his footballing education has been pure Barça.

La Masia graduate with first-team taste

Fort has been a Barcelona player for his entire career, climbing through the age groups after signing for the club in 2013. His first real break came in 2023, when he was promoted to the B team and quickly marked as one to watch.

That same year, he was handed his senior debut in the Champions League against Royal Antwerp. A daunting stage for a teenager, but also a clear sign of how highly the club rated his development at the time.

Since that debut, Fort has gone on to make 30 appearances for Barcelona across all competitions. Not a regular starter, but not a token academy name either — enough minutes to show he can live at that level, enough gaps to remind him how far there is to go.

To accelerate that process, Barcelona sent him on loan to Elche for the 2025/26 campaign. The idea was simple: regular football, real responsibility, a tougher learning curve. He managed 17 appearances there, but his season never truly settled. A series of injury issues interrupted his rhythm and cut into his game time before he eventually returned to the Nou Camp.

A window opens

Despite his potential and the investment of a decade of academy work, Barcelona is believed to be open to a sale this summer. Fort still has three years left on his contract with the Blaugrana, which gives the club leverage, but also makes this a logical moment to cash in if he is not seen as a long-term starter.

Clubs across Europe have taken notice. Liverpool is among those monitoring the situation closely, viewing right-back as a position that needs a more durable, long-term solution than a short-term loan and injury-hit depth options.

For Liverpool, Fort would not arrive as a finished article. He would come as a La Masia-schooled full-back with Champions League minutes, a taste of La Liga and a season of hardship at Elche behind him — the kind of profile that can grow quickly in the right environment.

For Barcelona, a sale would be a clean decision in a summer of difficult choices.

For Fort, it could be the moment that defines whether he remains a promising academy graduate or steps out as a key piece in one of Europe’s most demanding back lines.