Andoni Iraola has been speaking about his impressions of the Liverpool squad he is inheriting from Arne Slot.
Having spent three years facing the Reds in the Premier League with Bournemouth, the Basque is no stranger to their strengths and weaknesses.
And while analysing his initial plans for his new players in part two of his first interview with LFCTV, released on Saturday, Iraola admitted that linking up with Milos Kerkez is something he is especially looking forward to.
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Iraola excited for Kerkez reunion
Kerkez excelled under Iraola for two years at Bournemouth, earning himself a place in the PFA Team of the Year for 2024/25 and a move to Liverpool.
And when asked about his thoughts on the current group of players, Iraola singled out Kerkez as someone he is excited to improve even further.
“In terms of knowing the squad, we’ve analysed a lot in terms of Liverpool, possible weaknesses, the strengths, I think we have a very good squad,” he said.
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“I think there is still work to do, like every squad at this moment of the season. But right now for me the thing is to value the players that we have right now in the squad. For me, and I will tell them, they are all new signings. I think we have a lot of quality in our squad and I’m really looking forward to working with them.
“I only had Milos in a squad before,” he added. “I know a couple, I’ve been talking to a couple before, but it will be lovely to play again with Milos, try to improve him, try to help his improvement, definitely looking forward to it.”
Iraola hoping to get inside track on Liverpool players
While Kerkez can help him settle in to a degree, and can tell Liverpool players just what to expect from Iraola, he is the only one who has played under the new head coach in the past. As a result, the rest are going to have to get used to him very quickly.
With many away at the World Cup and therefore not available to report on the first day of pre-season, that is going to be more difficult.
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For Iraola, he says the plan in the meantime is to speak to people around the AXA Training Centre, those who know the players and work with them every day, to understand more about them and what they need.
“For me right now, more than talk to the players, some of them will be on their holidays, some of them with their national teams, I want to talk to the staff, to the people that work here every day, that know the players very well, to arrive as ready as possible to that first day of pre-season,” he explained.
“I think especially with a lot of those young players that will do the pre-season with us, a lot of things about the organisation, the staff, how we can create the best atmosphere, the best environment, so when they arrive day one everyone feels everything is in place and we can do this process of adaptation that will take some time as soon as possible.”
For Kerkez, that period of adaptation should be much shorter than for others, and it will be fascinating to see how much Iraola leans on his left-back to get his message across in those early days.
The Hungarian will be present at day one of pre-season, and it would not be a surprise to see him kick on from a mixed debut season with the Reds.
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