A look at three key issues for Andoni Iraola to sort during his first pre-season as Liverpool head coach
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - JUNE 04: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Andoni Iraola new manager of Liverpool Football Club at Axa training centre on June 04, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Nikki Dyer - LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Andoni Iraola is already working at the AXA Training Centre but the vast majority of his squad will only join him next week(Image: Nikki Dyer - LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
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The staggered return of Andoni Iraola's Liverpool squad is already underway but it's not until next week when the new head coach is able to welcome back his full pre-season contingent.
After a handful of players returned for some pre-season preparatory work on Tuesday, it will be Tuesday (July 14) when Iraola is able to meet his group for the summer in full ahead of a flight out to the United States on July 20.
As ever, the summer schedule is a critical period for so many at Anfield.
But the ECHO has taken a look at three specific situations Iraola might look to resolve early to ensure the Reds are able to bounce back from a disappointing campaign last time out.
Get Jacquet ready
Turning just 21 on Monday and fresh off shoulder surgery for an injury that ended his season in February, it would be understandable if new £60m signing Jeremy Jacquet felt some apprehension as a Liverpool player.
But Anfield's key decision makers would never have sanctioned the deal if they didn't think he couldn't handle the pressure and with Giovanni Leoni still on the comeback trail from an ACL injury sustained 10 months ago, Jacquet is likely to start alongside Joe Gomez across the summer at centre-back.
It's clear to anyone who watched his official unveiling by Liverpool last week that he is eager to impress and his performances will be one of the key subplots of the pre-season period. The Frenchman has a huge future ahead of him and getting him up to speed to be able to partner Virgil van Dijk in the Premier League will be one of the main tasks for Iraola.
KIRKBY, ENGLAND - JULY 07: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Jeremy Jacquet of Liverpool during a training session at AXA Training Centre on July 07, 2026 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Jeremy Jacquet was among the batch of Liverpool players back at the AXA Training Centre this week (Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
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At Bournemouth, the Basque coach coaxed performances out of Dean Huijsen that led to him first becoming a Spain international and then a £60m Real Madrid player, setting a precedent for Iraola improving a young defender with huge potential. That should bode well.
And as the only summer signing on the tour, a lot of eyes will be on how Jacquet performs, even with the caveat that the games are non-competitive and designed, mainly, for building base levels of fitness.
Seek clarity on Jones future
The future of Curtis Jones remains firmly up in the air as things stand with Liverpool having rebuffed two approaches from Inter.
The second, launched last month, was an offer that fell shy of £22m, and with the Reds reluctantly willing to do business at around the £35m mark, some at Anfield have questioned whether or not negotiations may now dead in the water.
With a such a gap in the valuation of the player at either end of the deal, progress seems unlikely at this stage and Jones could yet be excited by the Iraola plan for him when the pair reconvene next week.
The England international has been enjoying a summer holiday in Mallorca with his fiancée, Saffie, but will report back at the AXA Training Centre next week.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MAY 24: Curtis Jones of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Brentford at Anfield on May 24, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones has been the subject of serious interest from Italy (Image: Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
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With Argentina international Alexis Mac Allister still at the World Cup and Netherlands man Ryan Gravenberch enjoying a vacation, a midfield spot in the team could be open for the city-centre-born Jones if he can grasp the opportunity.
In an ideal world, he wouldn't want to leave his boyhood club but interested parties, like Inter and Aston Villa, have sensed that a lack of game-time could open the door to a transfer.
However, if the Academy graduate can impress on the tour, the shirt is there for the Premier League, particularly while Mac Allister is away.
For that to happen, though, Iraola will likely need assurances that Jones is ready for a fresh start at Liverpool and is not seeking pastures new. Those internal conversations between the pair could yet be crucial to how the player's future develops.
New position for Ngumoha?
Liverpool's pursuit of wingers this summer has so far led them to triggering a £34.5m release clause in Victor Munoz's Osasuna contract and communicating a willingness to RB Leipzig that they would be prepared to offer £86m for Yan Diomande.
Both players, while versatile in their nature, operate naturally off the left and interest in Bradley Barcola at Paris Saint-Germain means the Reds are also looking elsewhere at someone whose preference is the left side.
At a time when they are theoretically looking to recruit Mohamed Salah's successor for the right of the front three, the idea of spending enormous sums on someone who will be asked to play in a new position sits uneasily with some.
However, the idea of using Rio Ngumoha as a right-sided attacker has been floated internally and it will be fascinating to see where Iraola thinks the teenager is best suited when the summer period begins.
Ngumoha enjoyed a breakout summer last year and catapulted himself into the first-team setup before scoring his first Premier League goal just days before his 17th birthday, in that breathless 3-2 win at Newcastle United in late August.
Such has been Ngumoha's rise, in fact, that he ended the season as a Liverpool starter and an England international, narrowly missing out on a place at the World Cup after a player-of-the-match performance against New Zealand in the United States last month.
TAMPA, FL - JUNE 06: England Ngumoha Rio (31) attacks with the ball as New Zealand midfielder Ben Old (19) defends in the second half during the friendly soccer match between England and New Zealand on Saturday, June 6, 2026 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Liverpool winger Rio Ngumoha impressed as he made his England debut against New Zealand(Image: eter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images))
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These performances have reinforced the Reds' determination to reward Ngumoha's growth with a fresh contract which will be discussed when he turns 18 in late August.
Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich have been watching the situation but Liverpool have no intention of letting Ngumoha slip through their grasp.
The skilful winger's cameo for England came on the right side in America and while modern football has tended to see their wide forwards inverting on opposite flanks, cutting in on to their stronger foot, there is a discussion at Liverpool about the prospect of using Ngumoha as a more traditional wideman, getting on the outside and supplying dangerous balls into the box.
Given his lack of senior experience compared to some of the targets Liverpool are looking at this summer, particularly Barcola, it is possible that Iraola will feel Ngumoha can be reshaped into a different type of winger given he remains, despite his rapid progress, at the fledgling stage of his career.
It will be interesting to see where the 17-year-old is deployed this summer as a result. Long term, Liverpool need to find a way to unlock £125m striker Alexander Isak and fashion more high-value chances for the Sweden international.
Getting Ngumoha on the right side could be one way of doing that going forward and one of the main things the Reds were impressed about when it came to Iraola was his reputation for improving young forwards at Bournemouth like Eli Junior Kroupi, Rayan and Antoine Semenyo.
The new Liverpool boss will surely be licking his lips at the chance to turn Ngumoha into the player many believe he can be. A positional tweak may yet be in the offing.