Andoni Iraola has opened up on the differences between Liverpool and Bournemouth's approach to transfers, with the former Cherries boss explaining that patience has become a virtue
Andoni Iraola, the new manager for English Premier League football side Liverpool, walks out to meet the media at the team's training ground
Andoni Iraola has discussed the difference in transfers between Liverpool and Bournemouth(Image: (Photo by PETER POWELL / AFP via Getty Images))
New Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola has opened up on the key difference between transfers at Anfield and his former club, Bournemouth.
The Spaniard departed the Vitality Stadium at the end of last season following the expiration of his contract with the Cherries. He left having guided Bournemouth to European qualification for the first time in the club's history.
Liverpool, meanwhile, opted to make a change in the dugout after a subpar campaign under former head coach Arne Slot. Despite guiding the Reds to the Premier League title in his first season at the club, the Dutchman oversaw a disappointing campaign last term, with Liverpool just about edging into Champions League qualification.
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Iraola's high-risk, high-reward style of football was one of the key factors that drew the club's hierarchy to him. He's been tasked with restoring the intense style of football that instills fear in opponents, but it's fair to say he needs the players to do so.
So far, Liverpool's summer business has seen the club make one attacking addition in Victor Munoz from Osasuna after his release clause was triggered earlier in the window. From a defensive standpoint, a deal was agreed to sign Jeremy Jacquet long before Iraola's arrival, while Ronald Araujo has been brought in on loan from Barcelona to help plug some of the gaps at the back.
It's fair to say Liverpool's squad is far from complete ahead of the Reds' first game of the season against Newcastle United on Sunday. But in an interview with Sky Sports, the new Liverpool boss admitted that while there are some differences in how transfers are conducted between his former and current clubs, many of the problems they encounter are the same.
Bradley Barcola in action for France during the World Cup
Bradley Barcola remains Liverpool's top target this summer(Image: Photo by Sebastian Frej/Getty Images)
The protracted negotiations for certain players are not something he is unfamiliar with.
"Probably the money, the level of the player is different," Iraola explained. "But the issues normally are the same.
"Some deals you cannot do in the beginning, you have to wait and you have your hopes of 'Let's think that this is possible. It's not possible today, maybe it's going to be possible later' and you have to be patient as a manager.
"You learn with experience. Probably the first summers are very hard because you want your team ready to go straight away, but at the end, for me, the key is once the market is finished, we are happy with the team that we have. "
Liverpool's lack of wingers is the key issue facing Iraola at this stage.
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Mohamed Salah departed at the end of last season, and the club is yet to effectively replace him despite Munoz's arrival.
Paris Saint-Germain's Bradley Barcola is the widely reported primary target for Liverpool, but the two clubs are yet to agree a fee for the Frenchman.
Barcola's PSG teammate Ibrahim Mbaye has also been linked, while Brighton's Yankuba Minteh has been the subject of two bids from Liverpool in recent days.