Iraola Prepares for First Premier League Game at Anfield
Andoni Iraola walked into the press room at the AXA Training Centre knowing exactly what was coming. Bradley Barcola. Transfers. Midfield. Nottingham Forest. And somewhere in the middle of it all, his first Premier League game at Anfield as Liverpool head coach.
The Basque didn’t flinch.
Liverpool’s dramatic opening-day draw at Newcastle, salvaged at the death by Dominik Szoboszlai, has given Iraola a platform. Now comes the first home test on Saturday lunchtime, against a Forest side that turned Anfield into a recurring nightmare for Arne Slot.
Forest won 1-0 on their first visit under Slot, then 3-0 last November when the Dutchman’s reign was already unravelling. Aggregate score: 4-0 to the visitors. That history hangs in the air this week.
Iraola knows it.
Barcola, wide players and a restless market
The headline story is clear. Liverpool have reached an outline agreement with Paris Saint-Germain over a deal for France international Bradley Barcola, with a guaranteed fee just over £100m and an overall package that could climb towards £120m with add-ons based on individual and team success.
For Liverpool, Barcola has been the marquee attacking target all summer as they reshape their forward line after the departure of Mohamed Salah. The structure of the deal is in place, but the finer detail still needs to be signed off before the transfer is complete.
Iraola, as expected, stayed firmly within the lines.
“As you know, we are trying to sign in that position,” he said when asked directly about Barcola. “We can’t talk about players who right now aren’t ours. But we are trying to improve and fill that position as we don’t have the numbers. I hope we have good news soon but we are still not there.”
The need for wide players is not up for debate.
“There are certain things we can do but it’s true we need players in the wide areas,” he admitted. “I’m sure if we can improve other areas we will but I don’t know how the market is going to finish. I have to be patient as well as you. It’s very uncomfortable for me as you are dealing with uncertainties all the time. In four or five days we will know what we have and then we can make proper plans.”
The club’s broader shopping list remains live. Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock has publicly called for reinforcements at right-back and in midfield to follow Barcola’s expected arrival, echoing a growing feeling among supporters that one huge deal alone won’t be enough to complete the rebuild.
Iraola didn’t bite on specific names or positions, but he did acknowledge the reality of a squad still being shaped.
“It depends on the other positions,” he said when asked if one or two wingers would complete his business. “We know from the beginning what we wanted. We are probably down a player in some positions due to long-term injuries and those have been our main issues.”
And then the line every coach in a volatile window ends up repeating.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen. Even myself I have to be patient. Then we get to September 2, this is who we have and the options we have, then we can start thinking. For now we don’t know. I have in my head what I want, we’ve been talking since the beginning with the club, they know what we want. It’s about closing the deals.”
Midfield storm and defensive balance
If the transfer noise has been loud, the debate around Liverpool’s midfield has been deafening.
The draw at Newcastle reignited scrutiny of the team’s defensive transitions, with questions over how many bodies Iraola is willing to commit forward and how exposed that leaves his side when they lose the ball.
He expected the reaction.
“Not surprised,” he said. “I expected when I came here that everything would be magnified. I’m starting to understand. But it’s just one game where we did a lot of very good things, even the players in midfield did, but there are definitely things we need to improve.
“Now it’s a matter of myself and coaching staff and players. It’s football. You go to the goals always. If you make exactly the same mistake then it’s normal and I understand we have to talk about the defensive transitions. I thought we improved during the game in that aspect, were much much better getting the numbers. I think the first goal is more to blame than the second in terms of how we positioned when we lost the ball. We will soon be talking about something else.”
He is not about to neuter his midfielders.
“We can’t attack with everyone,” he said, before immediately defending his players’ instincts. “I don’t want to tell Ryan Gravenberch don’t carry the ball as he scored against Monaco, it came from his pass to Alex. But there is a balance, recognising the situation, how we can balance those numbers in those positions.
“Sometimes you have to accept the players go forward, it isn’t always one stays back and one goes forward. If the opposition are defending deep maybe both can go forward.”
That word – balance – came up again when he was asked about the broader structure of his team.
“We don’t want to lose the offensive side, the fluidity, the arrival of numbers, but we were punished the other day. We have been intently working on it. It’s nothing new, we always want to control that. But there is a balance, we can’t go from one way where we send a lot of people forward to putting everyone back and it looks stale.
“It’s a matter of identifying the situation. The players who are very good, they smell whether they can take the risk of going or staying, it’s the quality of the player who takes those decisions.”
For all the noise around the midfield, Iraola’s reading of the Newcastle game was not that of a manager under siege.
“I thought we controlled the game quite well,” he said. “I felt we had meaningful possession, were quite direct in attack. I was feeling good in the game, I felt we were closer to scoring than Newcastle in most part of the game. I felt good things in the first game.”
Selection calls and early impressions
There were also straight football decisions to explain.
Federico Chiesa will not feature against Forest after feeling an issue in his back during the game against Como.
“Fede is not available, in the game against Como he felt something in his back,” Iraola confirmed.
Harvey Elliott’s absence from the matchday squad at Newcastle also drew attention. The explanation was blunt.
“With Harvey and some of the players I can only choose 20,” Iraola said. “Harvey is trying and improving every week but I still prefer other options, about the balance on the bench. That’s why James McConnell was in the squad, but it’s now another new week and new chances for everyone. They have to keep that mentality.”
One of the biggest positives from the opening weekend was the debut of young defender Jacquet, who started and impressed before being withdrawn late on.
“He played very well considering it was his first game,” Iraola said. “It’s true he was tired, we had to sub him as you could feel he was tired in the last five minutes. He is very confident on the ball and good without the ball. Very young, we have to accept he will make mistakes.”
Up front, Cody Gakpo has quickly become central to Iraola’s plans.
“After the performance he had in the first game I say the same, he’s playing very well for us,” the head coach said. “He’s been very good since he’s been back from World Cup. The right attitude and I hope we can keep him at that level. He can be very influential on us.
“When the market is open and we bring in expensive players I cannot guarantee anything. But I don’t know. Our players, I cannot guarantee anything about how many we are going to sign or whatever. Experience tells us that if there’s an opportunity the last day you can do something.”
A reminder that for all the tactical work and early bonds being formed, the market can still rip up any plan in an instant.
Glasner’s Forest and an emotional Anfield debut
Nottingham Forest arrive under Oliver Glasner with a clear identity and a recent record at Anfield that commands respect.
“He has been very successful,” Iraola said of the Forest boss. “You can see straight away the shape. They don’t concede many chances, against Leeds it was a very tight game which was won with a free-kick in the last minute.
“We will have to earn every chance, win our duels, nothing is for free. We have to be good on the ball and patient because defensively they are very solid and good and have very good players. In transitions they are good threats on the counter.”
This is not the kind of opponent Liverpool can expect to simply overwhelm, especially given the scars of the last two meetings at Anfield. Forest have already shown they can come here, sit in, and strike.
For Iraola, though, there is another layer. This is his first Premier League game at Anfield as Liverpool head coach. The stage he has walked towards for weeks finally becomes real on Saturday.
“It’s going to be a special moment for me to have first PL game at Anfield,” he admitted. “I already felt it in pre-season. I will be thinking of the game but it’s also going to be emotional, it has to be like this as it’s a special place. I hope everything goes well and I enjoy the game.”
Between now and kick-off, the club will try to push the Barcola deal over the line. Other conversations over full-backs, midfielders and wide options will continue in the background. Names like Ismaila Sarr and Yankuba Minteh hover over the window, even if deals are complicated or cooling.
But when Iraola walks out of the tunnel on Saturday, the noise about fees and clauses will fall away. What will matter is whether Liverpool can finally break Forest’s hold over Anfield and show that this new era will not be defined by the same old problems.
With the clock ticking on the window and a tricky opponent in town, how quickly can Iraola turn promise, possession and big spending into something more ruthless on the pitch?
