Liverpool's New Era Under Andoni Iraola: Challenges Ahead
The season has started, the Andoni Iraola era is officially up and running, yet Anfield feels restless. Liverpool have a new head coach, a new way of playing and the same old concerns: thin depth in key areas, a transfer window ticking down, and expectations quietly being lowered.
Nottingham Forest arrive on Saturday for Iraola’s first competitive home game. Before a ball is kicked at Anfield, though, the debate around what Liverpool are – and what they want to be – is already raging.
The Salah Succession Plan That Stalled
The first accusation is simple: Liverpool knew Mohamed Salah was leaving. So why are they scrambling for a right winger with days left in the window?
The club would argue they didn’t sit on their hands. Early in the summer, Liverpool identified Yan Diomande as the heir to Salah’s right‑flank throne. The Ivorian was keen, attainable, and the messages from his camp encouraged Liverpool to push. Then RB Leipzig named their price. It was sky‑high.
From there, the game changed. Diomande, with interest from Paris Saint‑Germain, effectively used the situation to engineer a move to Real Madrid. Liverpool and PSG both walked away empty-handed. He will not be the first to leverage Premier League and Ligue 1 giants to reach the Bernabéu, and he will not be the last.
The setback left Liverpool chasing. PSG then dug in over Bradley Barcola, demanding big money and shutting off another potential route to refresh the attack. Targets narrowed, time evaporated.
None of that alters the optics. A club that has known about Salah’s exit for a long time is now searching for a replacement with the window about to slam shut. Others are late to the market as well, but that hardly softens the criticism. For a fanbase used to Liverpool being one step ahead, this feels like a step behind.
Iraola’s Midfield: No Fixed “Best”, Just the Right One
If the wing situation looks muddled, the midfield picture is more philosophical. Liverpool appear unlikely to sign a specialist defensive midfielder. So what does Iraola’s ideal engine room look like?
The honest answer: there might not be a single “best” trio. Under Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool often picked midfields tailored to the opponent, not just the occasion. Iraola seems set to follow a similar “horses for courses” approach.
Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai are the core trio for the two deeper roles. They bring different strengths but will likely rotate depending on the game plan. Szoboszlai also stands as the natural alternative to Florian Wirtz in the No 10 role, offering pressing intensity and creativity higher up the pitch.
Behind them, the options thin out quickly. Wataru Endo has started only two Premier League games in more than two seasons. Trey Nyoni is highly regarded but has yet to start a top-flight match. On paper, this squad still cries out for a true defensive midfielder to anchor everything.
That need has been obvious for over a year. It remains unaddressed.
Richard Hughes Nearing the Exit
Uncertainty does not stop at the touchline. It runs into the boardroom.
There is growing expectation that sporting director Richard Hughes will leave once the summer window shuts, with Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League his likeliest next destination. It would be another significant change in a key role at a club that has already cycled through several sporting directors in recent years.
As for who comes next, there is no clear answer. Julian Ward, now technical director at Fenway Sports Group, could be an internal solution. He knows the club, the ownership and the structure. But there has been no indication that a replacement is lined up or even close.
Liverpool are navigating a crucial window, planning a medium-term rebuild and potentially losing the man overseeing it all in a matter of days. It’s a precarious position for a club that once prided itself on stability behind the scenes.
Gakpo, Isak and the Numbers Game Up Front
Up front, another puzzle. With depth already an issue, why would Liverpool even consider selling Cody Gakpo?
Logic says they shouldn’t. The attack needs strengthening, not trimming. Any move to offload Gakpo only really makes sense if the player himself pushes for it. Given the criticism he received from sections of the fanbase last season, a desire for a fresh start would be understandable.
Yet his performances at the start of this campaign tell a different story. Gakpo looks like a man who wants to stay, contribute, and fight for his place.
If he does go, the knock-on effect is clear. Liverpool are expected to bring in two forwards. One of them would almost certainly become the regular understudy to Alexander Isak until Hugo Ekitike returns from injury. That would restore numbers, but it would still leave Iraola relying on new faces to bed in quickly in the most demanding part of the pitch.
Injury Room: No Clear Timelines
The injury list only tightens the margins.
Giovanni Leoni, Joe Gomez, Hugo Ekitike and Conor Bradley are all sidelined, and none has a firm return date. Without daily access to their rehabilitation progress, it’s hard to pin down exact timelines.
Ekitike has publicly circled Boxing Day as his comeback target. The nature of his Achilles problem, though, suggests that while he may reappear around then, Liverpool may not see the best version of him until next season.
Bradley has been out since early January. The club are determined not to rush him, wary of overloading a young right-back whose intensity is one of his biggest assets. Leoni is edging closer to first-team training, but after almost a year out, he will be eased back carefully, with minutes likely rationed until Christmas.
Gomez should return sooner than the others, but the fact he has now been out for a month is a concern in itself. For a squad already short in certain areas, every delay feels heavier.
Why the Mood Has Turned
So why does it all feel so gloomy when the season has barely begun?
Supporters are not blind to the context. The lack of transfer business in positions that have needed attention for months is hard to ignore. The mistakes in the opening game at Newcastle United were alarmingly familiar, echoing the problems that plagued Liverpool a year ago.
On the pitch, the team looks too similar. On the sidelines, the faces have changed. That disconnect makes it harder for some fans to buy into the idea of a fresh start. They see a new coach trying to solve old problems with largely the same tools.
The final days of the transfer window could yet alter the mood. A decisive move for a winger, a midfielder, or a forward might change the narrative and inject some much-needed belief.
Right now, though, the wider reality is stark: for the first time in years, almost nobody expects Liverpool to mount a genuine title challenge.
The season is young. Iraola has barely begun to shape this team in his image. The question is whether the club give him the squad – and the structure above him – to do more than simply chase the pack.
