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Andoni Iraola## Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola has been working with a group of players in the early parts of pre-season, but some more of his big-hitters will rejoin the group this weekend
04:00, 25 Jul 2026
Andoni Iraola during a Liverpool training session in Chicago, Illinois.
Andoni Iraola during a Liverpool training session in Chicago, Illinois.(Image: Nikki Dyer/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
There is no doubt about it: Liverpool simply has to make signings before the summer window closes. Andoni Iraola and his sporting director, Richard Hughes, are both aware of that.
But there is also no question that those players who were at Anfield last season pretty much all need to improve. Quite quickly, Liverpool will climb the table if even just one or two show the form of the title-winning season rather than the one that followed.
One of those who was not around when Liverpool won the league, though, has the potential to make the biggest difference. Alexander Isak, the $169 million (£125 million) striker, is the man who — without being too dramatic — the season could hinge on.
While Liverpool is yet to fully bolster its forward line following the departure of Mohamed Salah, most of the current options are not guarantees of the kind of goal return that the Egyptian provided for all but one of his seasons in red.
With Isak, though, it is a different story. If the Swede stays fit and gets proper service, the chances that are created for him will be taken.
The only doubts around Isak so far have been his fitness, not his quality, and his efforts for Sweden at the World Cup would suggest those are — at long last — behind him.
Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz during a Liverpool training session.
Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz during a Liverpool training session.(Image: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Isak, because he has been injured for so long, has been underrated by many. Plenty appear to have forgotten that Liverpool spent such a big sum on him — and endured such a saga — for a very good reason.
But while Victor Munoz might take time to adapt to the Premier League, Cody Gakpo is coming off the back of a period in which he was largely ineffective, and Florian Wirtz is much more of a creator than a scorer, Isak is a genuine guarantee of goals.
Hugo Ekitike, of course, in time, will shoulder some of the burden as well. But the Frenchman is still going to be absent for a very long time.
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During the months that Ekitike is missing, the pressure will be on Isak even more to deliver and take the team forward, often multiple times inside a short period.
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But with his price tag, that is something he will have expected. And with his ability, it is something he can carry.
"The three players that are going to join us (Isak, Wirtz, and Ryan Gravenberch) are going to be in the second week fully with us [in America]," Iraola told a press conference on Tuesday.
Each will be vital for different reasons, but none more so than the man primarily tasked with taking on the goalscoring mantle from Salah, who Iraola will meet for the first time this week.
Matt Addison
Matt Addison
Matt Addison is the Liverpool FC reporter for Liverpool.com, covering the Reds through written articles, podcasts and videos. He was formerly the Liverpool ECHO's Blood Red Writer, having joined Reach PLC in November 2019. He graduated from the University of Liverpool (BA) and enjoys covering Liverpool's youth teams, as well as the first team, and is an FA-qualified football coach and referee.
Liverpool FC
Andoni Iraola
Alexander Isak