Andoni Iraola has agreed to become Liverpool head coach and talks now turn to the Spaniard’s staff, including a set-piece specialist from Bournemouth.
Fabrizio Romano reported on Tuesday morning that Iraola had now reached an agreement in principle to take over at Liverpool.
Negotiations will continue over the finer details of his move, which includes assurances over the coaches he will bring with him to Anfield.
It has already been reported that assistant Tommy Elphick is likely to follow Iraola, having turned down an offer to become Bristol City head coach.
Journalist Ben Jacobs now reports on X that Shaun Cooper is also due to make the switch from Bournemouth as part of the new core staff at Liverpool.
BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - Friday, March 20, 2026: Bournemouth coach Shaun Cooper during the FA Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Manchester United FC at Dean Court. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Cooper, 42, came through the academy ranks at Portsmouth where he met Richard Hughes, before joining the Cherries as a player in 2005 and going on to make 240 appearances for the club.
After retiring in 2017 following spells with a host of other sides on the south coast, he then took up the role of development squad head coach at Bournemouth the following year.
Promoted to the first-team staff on a permanent basis in 2022, Cooper was credited for his role in devising set-piece plays.
That included special praise from goalscorer Ryan Christie following the corner routine which opened the scoring in Bournemouth‘s 2-0 win over Arsenal in October 2024.
“It was a move off the training ground,” Christie explained, with Justin Kluivert flicking Lewis Cook’s corner into his path for a sweeping finish.
“Credit to Shaun Cooper, [he] does our set-pieces. He’s coming up with loads of different set-pieces, he has new ones for us to try each game.
“I’m delighted for him that one of them eventually came off and luckily enough it was me on the end of it.”
While Cooper is unlikely to be appointed in the role of set-piece coach, instead joining as one of Iraola’s assistants along with Elphick, it is likely he holds that responsibility.
Will Shaun Cooper solve Liverpool’s set-piece issues?
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - Friday, May 15, 2026: Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister with a header towards goal during the FA Premier League match between Aston Villa FC and Liverpool FC at Villa Park. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
It comes after major issues with set-pieces at Liverpool in the season just gone, which led to coach Aaron Briggs being sacked in December.
Liverpool still ended the campaign with the most set-pieces goals conceded in the Premier League – 20, per Opta – though Bournemouth let in the second-most with 18.
That could prove a concern with this new appointment, but Iraola is of the belief that this was largely due to the height of his players.
Bournemouth‘s opponents met their xG for set-piece goals against them (18.33), which serves as evidence for Iraola’s theory, while Liverpool’s opponents outperformed their set-piece xG by a significant amount (14.09).