Andoni Iraola could position himself to have a crack at the Liverpool head coach role in the middle of the 2026/27 season.
As things stand, the Spaniard is believed to be Crystal Palace’s top choice to replace outgoing boss Oliver Glasner this summer, according to the BBC.
However, the incumbent Bournemouth manager is believed to be considering holding off on accepting employment at the end of the season.
There’s a world in which Iraola is the man available at the right time (even if he’s not, ideally, the right man, per se) for the vacant head coach position at Anfield.
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Liverpool, according to reliable sources, are prepared to commit to Arne Slot ahead of the 2025/26 season.
If we’re to take those reports as gospel, the Dutchman will be given some extra time to prove that he remains the right man for the job.
Of course, if he can’t manage to correct Liverpool’s course next term, we can’t imagine that FSG’s patience will be limitless.
And then it becomes a matter of analysing the options before the club in the middle of the campaign.
Assuming that Slot stays put at L4, it would leave Chelsea free to snap up their top target in Xabi Alonso.
In which case, with options of a similar calibre unlikely to be available in the middle of the 2026/27 season, Liverpool’s best choice to replace the Dutchman may look a lot like Iraola.
Of course, that all hinges on the Cherries boss opting to roll the dice on the quality of jobs available in the middle of the season.
In terms of how good a fit Richard Hughes’ old pal on the south coast would be at L4… well, that’s up for debate.
* Andoni Iraola’s all-time managerial stats with Bournemouth (Transfermarkt)
We admire the superb work Andoni Iraola has done with Bournemouth, but the step up to the Liverpool job is quite a big leap, as the likes of Brendan Rodgers and Roy Hodgson discovered.
But who else are we likely to be able to call in the middle of a campaign if Alonso’s been swayed by the Chelsea job offer?
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Good luck Alonso and Chelsea. They will be a dark horse next season. Fsg can kiss goodbye to my Liverpool subscription and merchandise.
He’s done well at for them but he’s under no pressure at Bournemouth. I wonder what the Liverpool fans would make of it. Stick with slot or go and get Iraola. First job for the Liverpool manager has to be the defence. Not the best defensive record at Bournemouth though is it. 125 games 41 defeats 193 goals conceded We could sack slot, get Iraola and be just as bad or even worse.
Big decisions for FSG coming up, what they do will dictate the future of the football club. Get it wrong and we will be in freefall.
Anfield has to rise in open rebeliion against the bald fraud. run him out of our club
Mate, I have an intuition we will lose against villa at villa Park. As for the final home game at anfield, I think Kelleher will come back to haunt us. He could be in top form saving shots after shots. If bournemouth and Brighton were to win their final 2 games and we get only 1 point or even lose the 2 games, we will be on max 60 or 59 points. Bournemouth and brighton could topple us from ucl spot. It could be hilarious if andoni iraola actually stopped us from getting ucl spot.
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