There may have been a disagreement high up at Liverpool over the appointment of Andoni Iraola, according to a fresh claim from former Everton CEO Keith Wyness.
Iraola is now officially the Reds’ new head coach, replacing Arne Slot, with the Spaniard saying all the right things in his maiden interview:
“Football at the end is about emotion. I understand it’s also a privilege but also a big responsibility, because all those people want to be represented properly and we are here for this. I would love from my side, from the players’ side, so all those people, [to] identify also with the football, identify with the values of the squad and we are all in for this.”
Now, speaking to Football Insider, Wyness claimed that Iraola may not have been the target all along for the likes of Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes at Liverpool, coming in as a late choice instead:
“They decided late in the season on the Slot issue that they were going to have to make a move; they’re now finding themselves picking Iraola because he’s available. Is that really the right way to have gone and picked a manager?
“It could have been a bit of undue haste that they may wish to repent on later on. I’m not entirely convinced that Iraola is the one that they’ve been hunting all season. I think that would have been much clearer, and it would have been labelled earlier.
“There are some question marks, I think internally. I think there’s been a little bit of disagreement between Richard Hughes and the others at the top of Liverpool and as to how they’re going to approach it.
“Iraola is available, and it’s been done quickly, but as I say that brings up a question mark in my mind as to whether he really was the one that they really wanted.”
Have Liverpool made the right choice in Andoni Iraola?
Regardless of how long Liverpool have been interested in Iraola, he came across superbly on Thursday and looks like an ideal fit for the Reds.
The 43-year-old plays an attacking brand of football not dissimilar to Jurgen Klopp, which Reds fans are likely to love, especially after some tough viewing under Arne Slot in the final year of his reign.
Iraola has the character and tactical acumen to be a huge hit at Liverpool, even though there is clearly a risk with him, as is the case with the vast majority of new managers, having not yet won major honours in his career.
The hope is that he can make the supporters love watching the Reds again, getting the best out of creative big-money signings such as Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak in the process.