Lewis Koumas reflects on how two years on loan in the Championship helped get him ready to force his way into the Liverpool first team
Lewis Koumas celebrates his first goal for Stoke City.
Liverpool's ewis Koumas scored six goals for Stoke City during a season on loan(Image: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
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Lewis Koumas backed himself to make a Liverpool breakthrough in the summer after two years fighting for game time on loan in the Championship.
The 21-year-old forward played 49 times, including 31 starts, for Stoke City in 2024/25 when it took until the last day of the season to secure their place in the division. He then made mostly sub appearances at Birmingham and Hull in half-year loans last term.
He went back to Merseyside and did his research on incoming Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola – and believing that he could be the kind of player to suit his demands – and that the last two seasons had put him in good stead to prove it.
Koumas had only previously made one appearance for his parent club, in the FA Cup in February 2024, but he has gone on to make 14 this season and he scored in the Champions League at LASK.
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He said: “I felt like it could be a massive opportunity for me. I started looking into the sort of manager that he is and I feel like loads of my game is what he looks for in a player.
“The type of player he looks for to help his team is sort of my identity as a player, so I saw it as a real opportunity to come in and try to grab it.
“I think the last two years were massive for my development and they are all reasons why trust is being put in me now.
“In the summer I definitely felt like this was going to be the chance to see if I can do it, to see if I can break through here. So, the fact that it happened is a really nice touch and I've just got to keep working hard now.”
Lewis Koumas celebrates scoring for Liverpool against LASK.
Lewis Koumas celebrates scoring for Liverpool against LASK(Image: Michael Zemanek/Shutterstock)
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Koumas featured in all five pre-season friendlies scored in the 4-2 win over Sunderland.
“I just made sure that there was no-one else out there (on the US tour) working harder than me,” he said. “There was going be no one out-training me and there was ultimately going to be no one showing that they want to play for him more than I was.”
Iraola, who joined Liverpool from Bournemouth, wants his team to have a front-footed, urgent and aggressive style of play.
Koumas said in an interview for liverpool.com: “I think him and his staff are really good at getting how they want to play across and the details they give before games are really, really good.
“They are good at communicating what they want to do and what they think because every game changes. The running is one part, being physically good enough to do what he wants, but then it's the tactical side as well, which is really, really important.
“He focuses a lot on detail and certain things so I'm always looking to implement it when I can."
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