It came as a shock to many Liverpool supporters on Saturday afternoon when Arne Slot was sacked by the club. Kopites were unimpressed after a dire campaign, which saw them spend £450 million in the summer whilst offering little fight in their Premier League title defence.
As the Dutchman walks out the door, there is speculation over who enters it, though one man has quickly become a favourite for the job.
Iraola becomes the frontrunner after historic Bournemouth spell
Andoni Iraola has enjoyed a successful period at Bournemouth. He joined while the Cherries were considered a relegation candidate, though under the Spaniard, they have grown into a credible top-flight club, and this season ended on a significant high, qualifying for Europe for the first time in the club’s history.
However, the 43-year-old won’t be part of it, after announcing he would be leaving at the end of the year.
Some Premier League sides, alongside some of Europe’s elite in AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen, held interest in Iraola, though their talks may be pushed aside in favour of the Merseyside outfit.
Reports on X that the Spaniard is ‘on the verge of signing for Liverpool’, after he turned down other clubs fighting for him to be in their dugout next season. Parts are expected to move quickly, as a big summer is still planned.
As transfer plans to come quickly ahead of the World Cup, and pre-season to begin in just over a month, they will want to move fast, and Fabrizio Romano reports that he will be the next Liverpool head coach.
He said, “The negotiations will move forward quickly to get it done with formal steps, but LFC decision made…Iraola will be the next manager.”
The search for a new identity
Iraola stands as the prime target to replace the Dutchman after his departure, though other candidates are in the wings in case a decision is made against the former Bournemouth boss. Ben Jacobs reports that Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeneß and RC Lens’ Pierre Sage are alternatives, though Iraola is leading the line out of the possibilities.
After the club’s defeat against Aston Villa, Mohamed Salah came out with a statement, suggesting the club need to return to the ‘Heavy Metal football’ that made them successful during Jurgen Klopp’s period at the club, and it seems the club agree with the Egyptians sentiment.
Paul Joyce reported that “Liverpool have decided they need a new manager to give the club the best chance of moving forward with a more front-foot, aggressive and urgent style of football.”
Iraola ticks a lot of the boxes required to make them an aggressive team that they are in urgent need of. A major criticism of Slot this past 12 months has been the laid-back approach his side utilised when they were off the ball.
Sage and Hoeneß offer a similar style, though a leg up the 43-year-old may have is his Premier League experience, especially when the team are looking to introduce much needed quality over the next few months.
Transforming the squad: Maximising talent and future transfer targets
The Reds spent heavily to reinforce their squad last summer, though the ideas that fans discussed, and the expectations the manager and the board will have shared, didn’t come to fruition. Instead, the optimism heading into a new campaign had evaporated due to how last summer’s signings had gone down.
Iraola is a man who has shown time and time again that he can produce quality for players in his squad. An example is in the current Merseyside outfit squad, in Milos Kerkez. The Hungarian was debated as being one of the best left-backs in the league, whilst on the south coast, though that has drastically altered since moving to Anfield.
Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak are key pieces to the puzzle if the club is to succeed in a post-Salah world. Iraola has been able to get the best out of Dominic Solanke, who scored 19 times in the Premier League in his final season at the Vitality Stadium, while Evanilson got 24 goal contributions in his first two league campaigns in England. After seeing little signs of progress from new faces this past year, this is ultimately a key decision in potentially bringing him to Anfield.
ReadLiverpoolFC Verdict
As the days went on, it seemed the likelihood of Slot remaining in charge was ever growing, though the decision came as a shock, but perhaps in a good way.
He helped deliver a league title, and the owners paid their respects to that, though there wasn’t enough evidence to suggest he could turn it around, and with large sums required to take the team to the next step again, that could have been decisive in his getting the sack.
Iraola is still a young manager, with fresh ideas of how to make an exciting, attacking football side, along with English experience.
The signs at Bournemouth are strong, though it’s a large step to take the Liverpool mantle. With the resources granted to him in this position, there is now a change in atmosphere at the club, from one of anger and disbelief to confidence that they can return to the top of the table if everything aligns.