Andoni Iraola’s announcement about leaving Bournemouth has sent the Man Utd rumour mill into overdrive, and it’s great news for one player.
The running favourite for the permanent Man Utd manager job remains Michael Carrick, especially if he shakes off the Leeds blip to go on another run.
However, in Andoni Iraola, he has a concrete competitor now, even if the Spaniard isn’t entirely a slam-dunk appointment in his own right.
What he is a slam-dunk for is the prospect of unleashing Ineos‘ pet project as a world-class player.
Leny Yoro during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Bournemouth at Old Trafford in 2025 in Manchester, England.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Where does Andoni Iraola rank for you among Michael Carrick alternatives?
Would you want Iraola at Old Trafford, now he is ready for a new challenge?
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Andoni Iraola polishes young centre-backs into world-class stars
Iraola made his name playing as a right-back for Athletic Club, so it’s no secret that his best work comes with defenders.
At Bournemouth, he has been known for polishing the game of young centre-backs and moulding them into world-class stars.
Ball-playing centre-backs like Dean Huijsen and Illia Zabarnyi played some of the best football of their lives to earn marquee moves to Real Madrid and PSG, respectively.
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It’s interesting to note that neither hit the same heights after the move, which speaks volumes about the work Iraola was doing with them.
Furthermore, Marcos Senesi is lining up for a big free transfer in the summer, who, at 28, has established himself as a genuine PL-level player.
Clearly, Iraola knows what makes centre-backs tick, and he gets them playing beyond their level, let alone matching it.
That’s great news for Ineos’ pet project at Old Trafford, who has struggled of late to make an impact.
Iraola would unleash Leny Yoro as a world-class player
Leny Yoro, in many ways, personifies Ineos’ ideal signing in the sense that they identified a potential generational prospect and went all-in to convince him to join.
Paul Scholes says he would SELL Leny Yoro and Patrick Dorgu
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Since joining, Yoro has shown glimpses of that generational potential, but that has been marred by instances of poor games.
That is to be expected of a player who arrived as a teenager, in a team that went back-to-back worst seasons in Premier League history under multiple managers.
What Yoro needs is a settled team, with a sorted dugout, and a manager who has a history of developing young, ball-playing centre-backs into stars.
Iraola’s front-foot style of defending will suit him perfectly, and his reputation for being a defender whisperer should carry over to Old Trafford.
His appointment might just be what Yoro needs to take the next step in his development, and go from “exciting young prospect” to “world-class defender”.
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