EXCLUSIVE: Former Arsenal striker Alan Smith on new Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola, the challenges that await him at Anfield, and competing for the Premier League title again
06:00, 05 Jun 2026
New Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola.
New Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola.(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Another summer brings another big period for Liverpool. And with Arne Slot fired last weekend, the former Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola will be the man at the helm tasked with driving things forward.
Iraola took Bournemouth to a sixth-place finish last season, despite his roster being gutted by the likes of Liverpool, Real Madrid and PSG in the transfer market, and he arrives as a very highly rated head coach with plenty to offer.
The 43-year-old's high-intensity style and aggressive, attacking intentions are understood to have been a major appeal for Liverpool. There is a core of good players for him to work with, too, even if the volume of them needs to increase before the next campaign kicks off.
In Iraola, though, Liverpool appears to have got a good manager who can inspire some more excitement in the new campaign than was evident in the last.
"I think on paper, most certainly, he's a really talented coach," former Arsenal striker Alan Smith tells Liverpool.com.
"You saw the way he rebuilt that defense; he lost three of the four regulars in that back four. I mean, the recruitment at Bournemouth has been spectacular.
"The likes of Junior Kroupi coming in, so many to name, that have hit the ground running. And he plays that front-foot, exciting football. If he can reproduce the style that he did at Bournemouth, Liverpool fans are going to love him."
New Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola.
New Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola.(Image: Nikki Dyer - Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Across the board, Liverpool will be looking to improve next term. Few of its players, though, look unsuitable for how Iraola wants to play, with the energetic Dominik Szoboszlai perhaps the most obviously strong fit.
"Milos Kerkez might be pleased to get his old manager in there; it was a little difficult this season for him," Smith says.
"Florian Wirtz, in his second year, you'd expect to see a lot more of what he showed in Germany. And I mentioned how Iraola could get really good performances out of his number 10, Junior Kroupi, for instance; anybody that plays in the middle, Iraola influenced.
"Of course, young Rio Ngumoha as well. He loves young players, so I'm sure Iraola will be looking forward to developing him as well. And I think the squad as a whole will be quite excited to see him come into the building."
Get Liverpool's new 2026/27 home kit
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Content Image
£85
LFC Shop
Buy Now on LFC Shop
Liverpool FC have launched their new home kit for the 2026/27, inspired by iconic adidas strip worn during the club's 1989/90 title-winning campaign.
Liverpool will need to do plenty of work in the transfer market. In forward areas, in central midfield, and possibly at center-back and right-back too, the Reds may need to make additions.
Next season, though, with a place in the Champions League having been secured, Liverpool will want to challenge on multiple fronts. Arsenal might be stable, but Pep Guardiola has left Manchester City, and there could be a chance to catch up.
Article continues below
"You just never know about being title challengers," Smith, speaking on behalf of Best Betting Sites, says. "But if they get off to a good start, who knows? It's easy to forget they were champions the year before that.
"So yeah, certainly Champions League football and a better finish than this year. To be challenging up at the top more, they obviously fell away. They need to make strides from what it was this season just gone."