Andoni Iraola has now had enough time to evaluate his players after four competitive games in charge of the club and a full pre-season.
He opted not to make too many changes to his squad and only made three summer signings, although a deal was agreed for Jeremy Jacquet before his arrival.
And in the summer, one of his most surprising decisions at the club was to retain Lewis Koumas, who was wanted by a bunch of clubs across Europe on loan.
Ahead of the game against Fulham, Iraola has heaped praise on the youngster, who has already made three substitute appearances this season.
Andoni Iraola lauds Liverpool attacker Lewis Koumas
“For me, Koumas the first week I was here I already told the club he was staying,” said the Spaniard in his pre-match press conference.
“I had very few doubts. He’s someone who trains very well, good attitude, good player, scores goals.
“He needs to add more things obviously as he’s a young player but he has good amount of experience playing in Championship at high level.
🚨 Andoni Iraola on Lewis Koumas:
“For me, Koumas the first week I was here I already told the club he was staying! I had very few doubts. He's someone who trains very well, good attitude, good player, scores goals. He needs to add more things obviously as he's a young player… pic.twitter.com/lGXTk3vE6k
— AS1 (@TransferSector) September 11, 2026
“He is ready to help us. When I bring him on he helps us in all situations. He has a very clear idea of what he needs to do, which is help the team. He understands this. When you have that mentality normally it is good.”
Koumas did his reputation no harm with his cameo against Atletico Madrid. He may have only got a few minutes, but he nearly scored and chased down every ball to help see off the game for his side.
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