Andoni Iraola spoke to the gathered press for the first time as Liverpool’s new head coach on Monday, as he prepares for the return of his available senior players on Tuesday.
The Spaniard has been quietly settling into life with the Reds, having already overseen a week or so of training with the U21s.
Liverpool fans were excited to hear Iraola speak, with the new boss touching on key topics such as Hugo Ekitike‘s injury recovery and the potential for new additions in the transfer market. After watching the Basque strut his stuff at the AXA Training Centre, here are five key points fans should focus in on.
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New signings are on the way
Perhaps the most pressing topic of any summer at any football club is that of transfers. For Liverpool this summer, it is especially key that they add to the squad as necessary, and with the Reds quiet since signing Victor Munoz at the end of June, fans are growing concerned that they may leave themselves short.
But Iraola has put those worries to rest, insisting that the club are working hard to get signings through the door.
“Obviously we’ve signed two players already but we need more players, we know this,” he said. “The club is working on this.
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“I know the club is working hard to get those signings and I am trying obviously to help as well.”
Liverpool clearly need more than they currently have, and confirmation that Iraola – and presumably those above him – are aware of that will be a relief to fans. Hopefully there will be some movement in the coming days and weeks.
Hugo Ekitike still likely to miss a substantial period
Iraola will not have all of his squad available to him immediately, with many having been given extra time off after playing at this summer’s World Cup.
As he was keen to point out on Monday, though, Liverpool have some injured players as well, and Iraola touched on the trio of Giovanni Leoni, Conor Bradley and Hugo Ekitike, suggesting that the former pair are still not fully recovered, while the latter will be missing for some time.
“Some of the very important players are injured. We haven’t even started training and already in the cases of Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni, long injuries,” he said.
“We have a situation with those three big injuries that are going to miss some time, that we have to find a way to replace them. We know these three players are long-term solutions, I am sure. But there’s going to be, especially in Hugo’s case, a period where we’ll be without them and we have to find solutions.”
Though the long-term nature of Ekitike’s recovery has been known for some time, Liverpool fans will hope that both Leoni and Bradley will be available sooner rather than later.
Iraola opens the door for Harvey Elliott
One point of interest as Iraola arrives has been how it will affect certain members of the Liverpool squad. The expectation has been that some players who were previously sidelined under Arne Slot could re-emerge after the change in coach.
Perhaps the best example of this is Harvey Elliott, who endured a nightmare season on loan at Aston Villa.
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Elliott returned early to training last week, and having already worked with him a little, Iraola confirmed that he intends to use the 23-year-old in pre-season to give him a chance to show what he can offer.
“Definitely Harvey is here with us,” he said. “I’ve seen him with this eagerness, showing himself, getting himself ready again. He will have a chance during the pre-season, we will need him.
“It’s a good sign he’s been here one week earlier, he’s been training with the under 21s and I hope we can see him in a good place.
“Last season had to be very difficult for him. It was a strange situation where they couldn’t even put him to play. I think he uses the bad situation he has experienced to make him even more eager to be a Liverpool player. “
Iraola highlights his difference to Arne Slot
If Iraola has been learning about some of the issues that Slot faced during his final year as Liverpool head coach, he has maybe would have seen that the Dutchman’s failure to really connect with the fanbase became a huge problem for him.
Slot’s family lived in the Netherlands, and though this should in theory have given him some free time away from the job, he never made an effort to integrate himself into the city.
Iraola seems keen to do things differently, confirming that he plans to visit the city when he can, in a comment which will put a smile on supporters’ faces.
“I’m ready for it, I understand that this is a massive club,” the 44-year-old said. “Everything I say now will go to big scrutiny. You have to be aware of the mistakes, but I also wouldn’t like to be too careful.
“I would like to act quite normal. I’m not going to live in my bubble, just training ground, home, I would also like to go to the city, experiences the city. I know some places, I will have to take some pictures. It’s part of the magic of being the Liverpool manager. I would like not to change too much.”
Iraola gives insight into pre-season plans
As he looks ahead to his first game as Liverpool boss – against Sunderland in Nashville on July 25th – Iraola also gave his thoughts on where he currently sees his squad.
“The players that have been in the World Cup deserve their three weeks,” he said. “I’m looking at the positives almost, I’ve had one week to see every training from the U21s, we’ve had some of the players from the first-team willing to come a little bit before, so they are already in better shape to start.
“Already today, they didn’t have to come, but I’ve seen two or three that I haven’t seen before who are already here, ready for tomorrow.
“I think this progressive introduction will allow me to get more in touch with every player and will give especially young players, those who have been on loan, more minutes during pre-season,” Iraola added.
“The first part of pre-season is basically going to be with a lot of players from the academy, players who in other situations I wouldn’t know as well, and now I will have the chance to know them personally, training every day with them, in some friendlies. It’s going to be good information for me.”
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