Two wingers and a right-back are priorities but the Basque’s flair for getting the best out of squad players will be crucial
Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards have acted with decisiveness and a clear sense of what Liverpool’s difficult situation demanded in switching head coaches within six days, although the appointment of Andoni Iraola removes just one layer of uncertainty from Anfield. Several others remain, including their roles in leading Liverpool’s recovery alongside Arne Slot’s successor.
With supporters turning against Slot’s football and more players liking Mohamed Salah’s critical social media post than wishing the Dutchman well following his sacking, Liverpool could not allow disillusionment to fester and needed to move fast. Sporting director Hughes and Edwards, chief executive of football for the club’s owner Fenway Sports Group, have delivered.
In Iraola, who was coveted by Milan, Bayer Leverkusen and Crystal Palace after improving Bournemouth in each of his three seasons on the south coast, those in charge of football operations at Liverpool have hired a coach who promises a version of the aggressive attacking style that captivated the Kop under Jürgen Klopp. But winning is what captivates Anfield most of all and there is much more to the appointment of Iraola than style of play.
Liverpool’s new head coach has demonstrated a flair for improving individual players and handling disruption with minimal fuss. Slot may have lost his way on all counts, but still delivered Champions League qualification in the most trying circumstances and under a most unforgiving spotlight.
Bournemouth operate in a completely different environment. Iraola surviving at the Vitality Stadium after a nine-game winless start to his Premier League career is testament to that. “We didn’t start well and, probably, you were thinking: ‘Who the fuck is this guy?’” Iraola joked at his Bournemouth farewell.
Anfield would not be pondering that question during a nine-game winless run but screaming it at those responsible. Unwavering support for a Liverpool manager is not guaranteed, as Slot discovered 13 months after delivering the title in his debut season and having faced unprecedented challenges in his second.
The urgency behind the move for Iraola was not only a reaction to external pressures and the despondency that had set in at Anfield over the final weeks of last season. Several attractive clubs are in the market for a new manager before the World Cup and there is a limited pool of talent available.
With the Basque holding talks with Leverkusen and Milan, and Liverpool’s powerbrokers convinced of his suitability and ability, FSG needed to sign off on their recommendations quickly. The World Cup will disrupt Iraola’s first pre-season and there is much to be done to turn the trajectory of a team in decline. Slot’s first pre-season, by the way, was disrupted by Euro 2024 and that proved no barrier to instant, unexpected success.
New signings are the obvious place to start. Slot believed the addition of two wingers this summer would catapult Liverpool back to the levels of his title-winning campaign, finally filling the voids left by Luis Díaz’s departure and Salah’s dramatic drop in form. Liverpool agree with their former head coach on that score and two wingers remain their priority.
Yan Diomande of Leipzig is a leading target although the Bundesliga club are reluctant to sell the 19-year-old and Paris Saint-Germain are also keen. A new right-back is also wanted with Conor Bradley recovering from a serious knee injury and Jeremie Frimpong more of a back-up option.
An experienced central defender and a midfielder could also be added to the list given Ibrahima Konaté’s departure on a free transfer and Liverpool’s midfield issues last season, but the wingers and right-back are considered more pressing requirements. Player sales or market opportunities could result in a centre-half and midfielder arriving later in the window, however.
But Iraola has been hired because Liverpool also firmly believe he can get the best out of players already in the building. The judgment of Hughes and Edwards is likely to stand or fall by this conviction. Liverpool’s reputation for astute trading and forward thinking, well established in the Klopp/Edwards era, has taken a battering after last summer’s record investment of almost £450m yielded dismal results.
Liverpool remain convinced they acquired talent that can deliver the biggest prizes. The eyes on last season say differently, although there is substance to the argument that Slot struggled to find the best position for Florian Wirtz or play to the strengths of Alexander Isak. Liverpool’s former head coach could respond with an injury list that restricted Isak, Wirtz and Hugo Ekitiké to less than two hours together on the same pitch last season.
Isak appeared ill-suited to Liverpool on the few occasions he was match fit but a more dynamic approach under Iraola, who wants the ball released into his forwards as early as possible, should make the Sweden international more effective. Wirtz, clearly gifted but too often on the periphery in his debut Liverpool campaign, should also benefit from the shift in style plus the addition of two fast wingers.
Iraola’s work with defenders is another part of his appeal to Liverpool. At Bournemouth he coached Illia Zabarnyi, Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez into talents worthy of big money moves to Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Liverpool respectively. Not one has had the same impact since leaving the Vitality Stadium.
Despite losing three-quarters of his first-choice defence last summer, as well as goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, and leading goalscorer Antoine Semenyo in January, the upheaval did not prevent the versatile Iraola from guiding Bournemouth into Europe for the first time in their history and finishing one place behind Liverpool on the back of an 18-game unbeaten run.
Liverpool’s central defence also requires rebuilding this summer with Konaté going and Jérémy Jacquet arriving from Rennes for £60m. Giovanni Leoni will be available after sustaining a season-ending ACL injury on his Liverpool debut.
Jacquet did not have to be an official Liverpool player to feel their misery with injuries last season, sustaining a serious shoulder problem days after the deal was announced. The France under-21 international is expected to be fit for the start of pre-season and to come straight into Iraola’s first-team plans.
Hughes and Edwards believe the 43-year-old is the man to reignite Liverpool and justify their decision to sack Slot. FSG, meanwhile, continues to entrust Liverpool’s sporting director and their chief executive of football to shape the club’s direction and justify last summer’s spending spree. So much rests on so much faith being rewarded.
Hughes and Edwards are entering the final 12 months of their contracts and the former has been regularly linked with a move to Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League. One of the attractions for Edwards in coming back to Liverpool after Klopp announced his intention to leave was FSG’s plan to add a second club to its football portfolio. That plan has since been abandoned.
There is uncertainty surrounding the future of the hierarchy above Iraola and in the make-up of the squad below him. But there is talent at his disposal, Champions League football and revenue on his horizon for the first time, plus the opportunity of a lifetime in his hands. As a two-year contract demonstrates, there is also no time to waste.
