Liverpool are preparing to open formal talks with Andoni Iraola this week over becoming their new head coach.
The club sacked Arne Slot on Saturday, just one year after the Dutchman guided them to the Premier League title.
Liverpool hope to have a successor in place as soon as possible, with departing Bournemouth manager Iraola identified as the leading contender.
The 43-year-old delivered Bournemouth’s finest season to date, guiding them to a sixth-placed finish and qualification for next season’s Europa League.
Iraola announced in April that he would leave Bournemouth this summer and has also been linked with Crystal Palace and AC Milan.
The decision to sack Slot was made by Michael Edwards, Fenway Sports Group chief executive, and sporting director Richard Hughes, who believe Liverpool need a more front-foot, aggressive and urgent style of football.
Iraola was appointed at Bournemouth when Hughes was technical director at the Cherries, a role he left in 2024 to join Liverpool.
Liverpool finished the Premier League season with 60 points, their lowest tally since the 2015-16 campaign and 25 points behind champions Arsenal, though they did qualify for the Champions League.
The club spent £415m last summer on six players, the highest outlay in a single window by a British club, breaking the British transfer record to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle for £125m.
They had previously purchased Bayer Leverkusen and Germany playmaker Florian Wirtz for a then-club record £116m as part of their bid to retain the title.
Iraola, a former Spain right-back who spent the majority of his playing career at Athletic Bilbao, began his managerial career in Cyprus with AEK Larnaca.
Spells with Mirandes and Rayo Vallecano followed before he joined Bournemouth in 2023, where he built his reputation as one of the game’s most exciting coaches.
Fan reaction to the potential appointment has been largely positive, with one supporter writing: “His attitude and work-rate, and that of his teams, is a better fit for Liverpool and what we need to right the wrongs of this season.”
Another fan drew comparisons to a previous era, saying: “I have always enjoyed how Bournemouth played under Iraola and feel a similar excitement to when we announced Klopp.”
However, some supporters have urged caution, with one writing: “Iraola would be a risk. Bournemouth, and Brighton and Brentford, just seem to be brilliantly run clubs and that no matter who comes in they punch well above their weight.”
