Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) have reportedly been impressed by a Spanish head coach if they were to dismiss Arne Slot…and it’s not Xabi Alonso.
The Dutchman’s future has been the subject of intense scrutiny amid a dreadful season at Anfield, and failure to qualify for the Champions League in the coming weeks could plausibly prompt the club’s hierarchy to make a change in the dugout.
Our former midfielder – who’s been out of work since getting the sack at Real Madrid three months ago – has been strongly earmarked as a leading candidate to take over from the incumbent boss if FSG were to pull the trigger on the 47-year-old, but Liverpool chiefs could reportedly overlook him in favour of a younger compatriot.
FSG have been impressed by Andoni IraolaAccording to sources for Football FanCast, Andoni Iraola is the preferred target for LFC sporting director Richard Hughes if Slot were to be sacked.
FSG have reportedly been impressed by the 43-year-old’s ‘consistency and philosophy’ at Bournemouth, who he’ll depart at the end of this season after three years at the Vitality Stadium.
The Spaniard is believed to be keen on remaining in the Premier League with a view to ‘stepping up’ to a high-profile club such as Liverpool, if the Reds were to be on the lookout for a new head coach in the summer.
Would Iraola be a good fit for Liverpool if they were to sack Slot?As then-technical director at Bournemouth, Hughes was instrumental in Iraola’s appointment on the south coast in 2023, so it’s unsurprising that he’d be in favour of hiring him at Anfield if there were to be a change in the dugout in L4 over the next few months.
The Cherries have finished 12th and ninth in the Premier League in his two full seasons in charge thus far, and they remain in the hunt for European football going into the home stretch of the current campaign, with the 43-year-old’s stock rising considerably during his time in England.
Football data writer Thom Harris outlined (via The Athletic) that the Spaniard’s ideas ‘have helped to alter the tactical landscape of the Premier League that we see today’ and also ‘transformed Bournemouth into an aggressive, high-pressing side’ who beat Liverpool earlier this season and won at top-flight leaders Arsenal last weekend.
Bournemouth have become renowned for their high-pressing intensity under Iraola, something which was a standout feature of the Reds under Jurgen Klopp and would surely be welcomed by Kopites who’ve grown disillusioned with Slot’s more patient style of play.
The departing Cherries boss would appear to tick a few important boxes for Liverpool if they were to make a change in the dugout, and he’ll surely be a much sought-after coach over the summer, though it remains to be seen whether FSG will keep faith with the incumbent boss into next season.
