Liverpool first-team coach Tommy Elphick has been tipped to break into management in the future by one of his former team-mates
BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 20: Assistant Head Coach Tommy Elphick of Liverpool during the Premier League 2026/27 match between AFC Bournemouth and Liverpool FC at Vitality Stadium on September 20, 2026 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Robin Jones - AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)
Liverpool first-team coach Tommy Elphick (centre), pictured on the sidelines during the win at his former club Bournemouth, was expected to remain at the Vitality Stadium alongside new boss Marco Rose (right) but instead followed Andoni Iraola (left) to Anfield(Image: Robin Jones - AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)
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Andoni Iraola's right-hand man at Liverpool has been backed to become a manager in his own right after "soaking up" the experience of coaching at one of the biggest football clubs in the world.
Along with Shaun Cooper, Pablo de la Torre and Tom Webber, Tommy Elphick followed Iraola from Bournemouth after the former Spain international was confirmed as Liverpool's new head coach in June.
The previous week it had emerged that the highly-rated Elphick had turned down the opportunity to move into management with Championship outfit Bristol City.
At that stage the 39-year-old looked set to remain at Bournemouth and become part of Marco Rose's new coaching team following the departure of Iraola.
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But Elphick, a boyhood Liverpool fan, instead followed the Basque to Anfield, where he is working as first-team coach.
However, the former Brighton & Hove Albion, Bournemouth and Aston Villa defender is being tipped to become a boss himself in the future by one of his old team-mates.
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Former Scotland, Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur right-back Alan Hutton played alongside Elphick at Villa and, speaking to BOYLE Sports, who offer the latest Premier League odds, said: "Tommy Elphick was an absolute ‘stick-on’ to go into coaching. You just knew it, instantly.
"He came into Aston Villa and he was captain and you could just tell he was a leader in the way he spoke. If there was ever an issue or a problem, he’d help you out. He’d help anybody out, the new players or whoever needed him.
"You could just see it in him to take it to that next level once he retired so it’s a great move for him to go from Bournemouth to continue working with Andoni Iraola at Liverpool. It’s a great next step for him, and such a great learning curve too. He’ll be soaking everything in.
"At some stage he I'm sure he'll want to step out on his own though because he's got those characteristics where he wants to be the main man and be the leader, so I would expect that in the future."
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Trent Alexander-Arnold right-back of Real Madrid and England during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD1 match between Real Madrid C.F. and FC Internazionale Milano at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on September 8, 2026 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Trent Alexander-Arnold made a controversial move from Liverpool to Real Madrid (Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Maybe - it would depend on the deal
While Elphick or any of the coaches who followed Iraola have spoken publicly since their moves to Merseyside, Bournemouth legend Steve Fletcher revealed recently they have been blown away by what they have found.
He said: "Liverpool is a global phenomenon, and they're going to expect big things. The only difference he will experience from being the manager at Bournemouth is that the expectation level at Liverpool Football Club is beyond belief.
"My two friends who are the coaches – Tommy Elphick and Sean Cooper – I speak to them on a regular basis. They've gone up with Andoni to Liverpool, and they just said the magnitude of this football club is beyond belief after touring America for two weeks.
"They said: ‘The levels of support out there – you get off the coach, and 400 people are waiting at the hotel’. It's just on another scale…the expectation level will be very different to what it was at Bournemouth.
"Losing our manager Andoni was a blow for the football club. He waited right until the end of the season because he loved the club so much; he hadn't made his mind up, but I think the Liverpool thing came quite quickly.
"I don't think it was something that was planned much in advance. I think the opportunity came along, and how could you turn it down, you know? It's one of the biggest clubs in the world."
Iraola and his new coaching team have made a positive start with the the Reds, who remain unbeaten after five Premier League matches, winning two, including last time out at Bournemouth, and drawing three.
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Liverpool have also progressed to the last-16 of the Carabao Cup and got off to a winning start in the Champions League.
Next up for Iraola's side is a huge Premier League clash at home to Manchester City on Sunday, October 11.