Hector Fort: Liverpool's Next Right-Back from Barcelona
Liverpool’s search for a long-term answer at right-back has moved quietly but steadily into familiar territory: Barcelona’s academy.
With the summer window ticking into its final weeks, Liverpool has already reinforced its back line. Jeremy Jacquet has arrived from Rennes to bolster the center of defense, while Ronald Araujo has come in on loan from Barcelona, offering cover at both centre-back and right-back. Those deals address the here and now.
The future is a different question.
Persistent injuries to Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong have left right-back looking fragile. Araujo’s loan is only a short-term patch. Liverpool needs something more permanent, something that can grow with the squad rather than simply hold it together for a season.
That is where Hector Fort enters the conversation.
La Masia product with a modern profile
Fort is a right-back on Barcelona’s books, born in the city on August 2, 2006. At 20 years old, he is only just stepping into the early stages of his professional career, but his path has followed a classic Catalan route.
He started out at Anguera before Barcelona moved to bring him into La Masia at the age of seven. From there, he climbed the age groups, a permanent Barcelona player since 2013, learning the positional play and technical demands that define the club’s identity.
His real break came in 2023. First came a promotion to the B team, then a senior debut in the Champions League against Royal Antwerp later that year. It was a clear signal of trust: Barcelona do not hand out European debuts lightly, especially to academy full-backs.
Since that first taste of senior football, Fort has collected 30 appearances for Barcelona across all competitions, enough to show there is substance behind the hype but still leaving plenty of room for growth.
Loan test at Elche
For the 2025/26 season, Barcelona sent Fort on loan to Elche, a classic test for a young defender: away from the comfort of La Masia and the Nou Camp, into a side where defensive work comes first and mistakes are punished quickly.
He managed 17 appearances during that spell. Injuries disrupted his rhythm and limited his minutes, halting what might otherwise have been a more complete breakthrough campaign. Even so, the loan added senior experience and exposed him to a different type of pressure before he returned to Barcelona.
Back at the Nou Camp, his situation is now at a crossroads.
Barcelona open to a deal
Despite Fort’s potential, Barcelona is believed to be open to letting him leave this summer. With three years still left on his contract, the club holds a strong negotiating position, but interest from elsewhere is growing.
Liverpool is among the clubs tracking him closely. The fit is obvious: a young, technically schooled right-back, comfortable in possession, raised in a system that values attacking full-backs and positional intelligence. For a team that has turned full-back play into a tactical weapon in recent years, that profile is hard to ignore.
Right-back has become a problem position at Anfield, not through lack of talent but through lack of reliability. Bradley and Frimpong’s injury issues have stripped away certainty. Araujo’s presence helps, but only temporarily.
Fort would represent the opposite: a long-term project, a player who could be developed and molded over several seasons.
Barcelona’s willingness to talk, Liverpool’s need for a solution, and a young defender standing on the edge of a major career decision — the pieces are there. The only question now is whether Liverpool sees Hector Fort as the next cornerstone of its back line or just another name on a long summer shortlist.
