Teenager Nyoni excelled in Andoni Iraola’s first pre-season tour, but the head coach desperately needs transfers
Andoni Iraola’s first pre-season tour as the Liverpool head coach produced wins over Sunderland in Nashville and Wrexham in New York before ending in a 4-2 defeat against Leeds in Chicago. The Guardian followed the tour throughout and here are a few things we learned.
Liverpool’s second-half display against Leeds was both concerning and valuable for the Iraola as set-piece problems and a tendency to switch off – two of last season’s recurring themes – reared their ugly head again, albeit after he had made changes. Liverpool’s opening 45 minutes, however, was their best of the tour and showed how effective his front-foot, more intense style can be with the big names back. But that process is only just under way.
Iraola is yet to even meet Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, Alisson, Alexis Mac Allister and new signing Víctor Muñoz since his appointment almost two months ago, never mind coach them. They will be finally be acquainted when the squad reports back for training on Wednesday, having been given a little time off to recover from Sunday night’s flight from Chicago. Mac Allister will be still absent after his World Cup exertions. There is less than three weeks to go and only two more friendlies (although it is a double-header against Como at Anfield) before Liverpool open their Premier League season at Newcastle. “I would like to say on the first day we are going to be perfect, everyone will be in place,” Iraola said. “But probably it is not going to be like this.”
For most of the tour, Iraola was without eight first-team players due to World-Cup holidays and six because of injury, either recovering from or, as in the unfortunate Joe Gomez’s case, sustained in the US. No prizes for stating that Liverpool’s performances and adaptation to Iraola’s methods would have been much more advanced with 14 extra first-team players available. Even so, glaring gaps remain in the team when every option is taken into account.
Mohamed Salah’s departure was announced in March. Talks to end his contract one year early commenced earlier. Five months on from the announcement, he is yet to be replaced. The seriousness of Conor Bradley’s knee injury means Liverpool remain light at right-back. There are the highest hopes for Jérémy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni – the latter has transformed himself into a strapping Adonis while recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, by the way – while 18-year-olds Ifeanyi Ndukwe and Mor Talla Ndiaye did well in the US. But Liverpool are lacking Premier League experience in central defence and Ndukwe will be unable to play this season due to post-Brexit work permit difficulties. Gomez’s injury record means he must be considered a bonus when fit, rather than one of four options. It was interesting to hear Iraola explain how he likes wingers to play both flanks, and the advantages of switching them during a game, but Liverpool’s right side could be a problem even if they succeed in signing Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain.
There was an enforced reliance on young players during the tour and Iraola was genuinely impressed by the levels many showed in training and the friendlies. Ndukwe and Talla Ndiaye, as mentioned, Lewis Koumas, Kieran Morrison and Luke Chambers were among them. But no prospect pushed their first team claims further than Trey Nyoni, who grew in stature and confidence with every outing. The 19-year-old and Rio Ngumoha were permanent fixtures in Arne Slot’s squad last season, but while the winger made 19 appearances in the Premier League, including five starts, Nyoni had to settle for six league outings from the bench. On this evidence, there will be many more this season. The midfielder looked immediately at ease with Iraola’s instructions to find forward options as quickly as possible and did so whether under pressure or by creating space for himself with intelligent movement. His pass in the buildup to Florian Wirtz’s goal against Leeds was exquisite and in keeping with his contribution overall. Nyoni said after the Leeds game he knew he had to improve this summer. He was as good as his word.
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To pinch a phrase from Salah, Curtis Jones looked more out than in at times as he enters the final 12 months of his Liverpool contract with increasing interest from the Italian champions, Inter. Unlike Nyoni and Dominik Szoboszlai, the 25-year-old did not adapt comfortably to Iraola’s requirements for a central midfielder and particularly struggled when introduced in the second half against Leeds. But it was his petulant reaction to not receiving the captain’s armband from Szoboszlai against Wrexham that did him fewest favours.
Jones was also overlooked for the captaincy when Gomez exited the opening game against Sunderland. On both occasions the armband was passed to Kostas Tsimikas, a reserve left-back who spent last season on loan at Roma. Of course, that was going to annoy a boyhood Liverpool fan and one of the more senior players on the tour, and Jones, Szoboszlai and Tsimikas all went to great lengths to laugh off the incident in the days after the Wrexham win. The row might have been overblown on social media, but given Iraola stresses the importance of the collective, Jones’s individualistic behaviour jarred with what he is trying to build.
In the absence of Salah, Andy Robertson, Van Dijk and Alisson, and in keeping with his status as Liverpool’s player of last season, Szoboszlai was undoubtedly the big attraction for fans in the US. The Hungary captain’s every introduction and contribution was met with fanatical acclaim and his was the face the media wanted on their channels. More importantly for Iraola, Szoboszlai led the way in training and his leadership was invaluable given the relative inexperience of the squad. Fresh from signing a new five-year contract, the 25-year-old is an obvious choice to fill one of the vice-captain vacancies created by the departures of Salah and Robertson.
