Andoni Iraola has admitted that he is keen to take a look at some of Liverpool’s fringe players and less regular starters during the first days of pre-season.
With the World Cup in full swing when the Reds return at the beginning of July, Iraola will be missing many of his best players as he starts life as the new Liverpool head coach.
Nevertheless, after some were left out of squads or failed to qualify for the tournament at all, there will still be 13 senior players for Iraola to work with, along with a raft of hopeful youngsters.
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Goalkeepers
Liverpool‘s goalkeeper department is once again under review heading into the new campaign, but there does at least look to have been some clarity on Alisson Becker staying put.
Though he looks set to continue as No. 1 under Iraola, Alisson will not be present on the first day of training as he participates at his third World Cup.
If the Brazilian stays, it will be fascinating to see what happens with Giorgi Mamardashvili, with the Georgian having an early chance to impress the new boss right from the start. Although his contract officially ends in June, Freddie Woodman has a one-year option to extend, and it is likely that this is taken. He will be Liverpool’s second senior goalkeeper present to welcome Iraola.
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Defenders
If Liverpool’s goalkeeping group is up in the air, then the defence has even more of a question mark going into it for 2026/27.
Despite that, Iraola will have the fortune of being able to work with what could be a potential full back four throughout pre-season.
Jeremie Frimpong does not look like being Liverpool’s first-choice right-back under the Basque, but he will be determined to have a better season after missing out on the World Cup. With Conor Bradley seemingly not expected to be quite ready, the Dutchman will be the only senior right-back available to Iraola.
At centre-back Liverpool have the positive of having Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni being ready from day one of the new campaign. Both suffered long-term injuries in 25/26, but the direction of travel appears to be that the new centre-back pairing will be ready for pre-season. As things stand they will be joined by Joe Gomez, although the long-serving defender could also leave before training gets back underway.
Meanwhile, Iraola will also have his two senior left-back options in the building, with Milos Kerkez and the returning Kostas Tsimikas both likely to be present.
Midfielders
One of the biggest boosts for Iraola as he begins work will be having Dominik Szoboszlai to call upon immediately.
Like Kerkez, the Hungarian was devastated to miss out on the World Cup, but the upshot is that he is perhaps the most senior of the Liverpool stars to be there for the new boss’ arrival.
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Szoboszlai will be expected to set the standard in the absence of his fellow big-name teammates.
Currently, Curtis Jones will also be expected to return for day one, but it feels more likely that the Scouser will have completed a move to Inter Milan or elsewhere before then. As things stand, though, he will join Szoboszlai as Iraola’s senior midfield options.
Elsewhere, it will be fantastic to see Harvey Elliott back as he looks to start afresh under a new manager and revive a Liverpool career which had looked to be dead and buried.
Trey Nyoni will likely be around as well, but we wouldn’t count him as a fully-fledged first-teamer just yet.
Attackers
Liverpool are set to add to their attack this summer, and it could be that Iraola can count on some new faces by the time he kicks things off for pre-season.
For now, though, there are only two first-team forwards slated to be present on the 43-year-old’s first day.
One is Federico Chiesa, who could well leave by the time July comes around, the other is Rio Ngumoha, who finds himself in the odd position of being Iraola’s best attacking option on the ground at the AXA Training Centre.
With Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak at the World Cup and Hugo Ekitike injured, the Spaniard will get a glimpse into just how much work needs to be done in the attacking department.
Along with these senior players, a number of youngsters will join the likes of Nyoni in the hope of impressing Iraola. Among a fair few needed to bulk out the group, Ifeanyi Ndukwe, Mor Talla Ndiaye, Kieran Morrison, Armin Pecsi, Will Wright and Josh Abe are likely to be the standouts.
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