Andoni Iraola is poised to finalize his appointment as Liverpool’s new head coach today, with the former Bournemouth manager expected on Merseyside to sign a contract that will see him succeed the sacked Arne Slot. The Reds reached a verbal agreement with the 43-year-old on Tuesday, and a formal announcement could follow within days.
The swift move comes just five days after Liverpool parted company with Slot, who was dismissed despite delivering the club’s 20th league title only 12 months earlier. A disastrous 2025/26 campaign—marked by defensive frailties and a disjointed pressing structure—forced the hierarchy to act, with sporting director Richard Hughes leading the search for a replacement who could restore the high-intensity identity that defined the Jürgen Klopp era.
Iraola, who impressed during his three-year tenure at the Vitality Stadium, has made it known he wants to bring four trusted lieutenants with him to Anfield: Pablo de la Torre, Tommy Elphick, Shaun Cooper, and Tom Webber. However, Liverpool are yet to make formal approaches for the coaches, a process expected to accelerate once the head coach’s signing is complete.
The appointment reunites Iraola with Hughes, the man who headhunted him for Bournemouth in 2023 after an impressive spell at Rayo Vallecano. That partnership delivered remarkable results on the south coast, culminating in a 2025/26 season where the Cherries defied expectations to secure a sixth-place finish—just three points behind Liverpool—and qualify for the Europa League.
Bournemouth’s campaign was built on an 18-game unbeaten run in the second half of the season, a testament to the Basque coach’s tactical acumen and ability to extract maximum performance from a modest squad. His hallmark gegenpressing style has drawn comparisons to Klopp’s Liverpool, a factor that clearly appealed to the Anfield decision-makers.
Yet questions linger over whether Iraola’s methods can translate to the demands of a club competing on four fronts. Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher voiced concerns that the relentless energy required by the system might be unsustainable when fixtures come every three days. “Off the ball was a big problem for Arne Slot, that was the thing that really worried me,” Carragher said. “The way Iraola plays is definitely the way Liverpool want to go back to: high-intensity football. … My worry is, can you play at that intensity when you're playing every three days, and that was only getting played once a week with Bournemouth. That is completely different.”
Carragher also raised the pivotal question that accompanies any managerial appointment at an elite club: can he win the league? “Whenever you're bringing a manager in for a top club in England, you're thinking: ‘Can he win me the league?’ That's a big question mark around him,” he added, noting that Liverpool have just dismissed a title-winning coach.
Former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp offered a more succinct endorsement, describing Iraola as a manager he “loves” — though the full extent of his praise was cut short. The sentiment nevertheless reflects a widespread admiration for the Spaniard’s work in the Premier League.
For Liverpool, the gamble is calculated. After a season of regression, the club is betting on a coach who can reignite the counter-pressing machine that once made Anfield a fortress. The arrival of Iraola’s staff suggests a total reset of the coaching dynamic, something Slot struggled to achieve after inheriting a squad in transition.
The coming weeks will see Iraola tasked with reshaping a team that finished a distant eighth in the league, missing out on Champions League football entirely. Early priorities are likely to include tightening a leaky defense and re-establishing the fitness and drilling standards that underpinned Bournemouth’s overachievement.
Based on reporting from Sky Sports.