Liverpool sacked coach Arne Slot after two years, one in which they won the Premier League and the second in which they barely qualified for Champions League in the last matchday. Former Liverpool player Xabi Alonso sounded on paper like the most obvious choice to replace him, but the former Real Madrid manager was picked by Chelsea, and Liverpool is now looking at another Spaniard, Andoni Iraola.
BBC Sport reports that Liverpool have reached a verbal agreement with Andoni Iraola to take over as head coach, signing a two-year deal, because Iraola tends to prefer short-term deals. Iraola comes after establishing Bournemouth as a solid team in the Premier League, with two record-breaking seasons for a team that, eleven years ago, had never played in top tier. Previously, he brought Rayo Vallecano back to LaLiga, coaching it between 2020 and 2023.
Iraola, 43, will take its biggest challenge yet, by far his biggest club as head coach after also working in Mirandés and Larnaca. According to BBC, Liverpool likes Iraola's style: front-foot, aggressive football.