Jurgen Klopp will be thrilled with Andoni Iraola’s expected selection as Liverpool’s new manager.
Following Arne Slot’s dismissal on Saturday, Spanish manager Iraola has been in official negotiations with the Reds about replacing him, and the former Bournemouth man is now largely likely to become Liverpool’s 22nd full-time manager.
And Klopp, the 20th, is a huge fan of the Basque, according to his words from January 2024.
The German met Iraola’s Bournemouth three times during the 2023-24 season, Iraola’s first in English football and Klopp’s last at Anfield.
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And, just a week before Klopp’s surprise revelation that he was leaving, the Reds manager lauded Iraola for turning around Bournemouth’s fortunes after only one win in his first 11 Premier League games.
When asked if he had been impressed by what Iraola had done with the Cherries, who had just won seven of their previous nine matches, including a 3-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, Klopp replied: “Yeah good, and it’s just kind of… when you don’t play them on the weekend, I really have time to admire what he’s doing there.”
In His Words?
“So it was certainly a difficult start for him at Bournemouth, with the management change and everything of that. I didn’t know anything about him. With the outcomes thus far this season, if you don’t take a close look at Bournemouth, this is something that may happen. But they turned it around. Wow.
“That’s real coaching, I have to say. He found a way to set this team up and they have a really good mix. They play football in a fine direction, in the right moments. They use Dom Solanke in a sensational way, the support he gets from the centre, from the wings, the way they defend, they’re really good, really compact, so that’s proper.”
That mention of Solanke, who spent one season under Klopp at Liverpool in 2017-18, might be music to the ears of Alexander Isak, who struggled in his debut season at Anfield.
Isak, who scored four goals in his first season with the Reds, hopes to make a larger impact next season after returning from the World Cup.
The Sweden international scored an excellent goal in his team’s 3-1 friendly loss to Norway on Monday night in preparation for the competition.
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