Andoni Iraola Prepares for Premier League Debut at Anfield

Andoni Iraola walked into the press room at the AXA Training Centre on Thursday knowing exactly what was coming. Bradley Barcola. Transfers. Midfield. Nottingham Forest. And, somewhere beneath it all, the small matter of his first Premier League game at Anfield as Liverpool head coach.

The Basque has barely drawn breath since Dominik Szoboszlai’s late rescue act at Newcastle. One game into his competitive reign, and already the noise around Liverpool feels deafening.

Barcola, wide men and an uneasy market

Liverpool’s week has been dominated by the pursuit of Bradley Barcola. An outline agreement with Paris Saint-Germain is in place for a deal worth more than £100m, potentially rising towards £120m with add-ons. It is the kind of move that defines a summer.

Iraola, though, refused to be drawn into specifics.

“As you know, we are trying to sign in that position,” he said, careful not to cross the usual line on players who are not yet his. Liverpool lack numbers in the wide areas. He knows it, the club knows it, the market knows it.

“There are certain things we can, but it’s true we need players in the wide areas,” he added. “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.”

That tension between planning and improvising ran through his answers. The club’s priority is clear: wingers first. Other areas? Only if the right opportunity appears before the window closes.

Experience, he warned, says anything can happen on the final day. No guarantees on signings. No guarantees on outgoings either.

Gakpo’s form, and the risk of late drama

Cody Gakpo has emerged as one of Iraola’s early pillars. The head coach was quick to underline just how important the Dutchman has become.

“After the performance he had in the first game I say the same, he’s playing very well for us,” Iraola said. “He’s been very good since he’s been back from the World Cup. The right attitude and I hope we can keep him at that level. He can be very influential on us.”

Then came the caveat. The market is open. Big clubs are circling players across Europe. When money moves, plans can be ripped up in an afternoon.

“When the market is open and we bring in expensive players I cannot guarantee anything,” he admitted. “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.”

Liverpool’s rebuild is ambitious. It is also fragile, right up until the window slams shut.

Midfield scrutiny and the balance problem

If Barcola has dominated the headlines, the midfield has taken the heat. One game, one point, and already the debate is raging.

Iraola didn’t flinch.

“Not surprised,” he said of the reaction. “I expected when I came here that everything would be magnified. I’m starting to understand.”

He defended his players but didn’t hide from the flaws. Liverpool’s defensive transitions at Newcastle were exposed, especially for the first goal.

“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,” he said. “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.”

The tightrope is obvious. Iraola wants Liverpool to attack with numbers, with rhythm, with risk. But he cannot allow the team to be ripped open every time they lose the ball.

“We can’t attack with everyone,” he explained. “There is a balance, recognising the situation how we can balance those numbers in those positions.”

He pointed to Ryan Gravenberch as an example. The Dutchman’s forward surges are a weapon, not something to be coached out of him.

“I don’t want to tell Ryan Gravenberch don’t carry the ball,” Iraola said. “But 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.”

The message is clear: structure matters, but instinct wins games. The trick is knowing when to lean into each.

“We were closer to scoring” – Newcastle reflections

For all the post-mortem around the midfield, Iraola sounded content with much of what he saw at St James’ Park.

“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.”

He knows, though, that Liverpool were punished. The lesson is not to retreat into caution.

“We don’t want to lose the offensive side, the fluidity, the arrival of numbers,” he stressed. “But we were punished the other day. We have been intently working on it. We can’t go from one way where we send a lot of people forward to putting everyone back and it looks stale.”

The best players, he argued, “smell” the moment — when to go, when to stay. His job is to give them a framework that makes those decisions easier.

Team news: Jacquet, Chiesa, Elliott

Among the noise of transfers and tactics, Iraola also had to navigate the more routine business of team selection.

Young defender Jacquet earned praise for his display on debut.

“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.”

Fede Chiesa, however, will not be available after feeling an issue in his back during the game against Como.

“Fede is not available,” Iraola confirmed.

Harvey Elliott again finds himself on the fringes of the matchday squad, a victim of the numbers game.

“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.”

Forest, Glasner and a bruised Anfield record

If the transfer window sets the backdrop, Nottingham Forest provide the immediate test. And they arrive with history on their side.

Forest have won on their last two visits to Anfield, both under Arne Slot, by an aggregate score of 4-0. A 1-0 win in September 2024, then a 3-0 victory last November as the Dutchman’s tenure began to unravel. Anfield, usually a fortress, turned accommodating for the visitors in red.

Oliver Glasner has since tightened Forest into a far more defined unit.

“He has been very successful,” Iraola said. “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.”

Forest’s threat in transition is a concern.

“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.”

Given Liverpool’s own issues when they lose possession, that particular battle could decide the afternoon.

Anfield awaits

For Iraola, Saturday is not just another league fixture. It is his first Premier League match at Anfield, a landmark moment in any Liverpool manager’s career.

“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.”

Emotion, though, will only be tolerated up to kick-off. From that point, the demands are simple: control Forest, control transitions, break down a stubborn defence, and start rewriting a recent home record that has been an embarrassment for a club of Liverpool’s stature.

The squad might still change before the window closes. Barcola might yet walk through the door. Others might leave. For 90 minutes on Saturday, none of that will matter.

What will matter is whether Iraola’s Liverpool look like a team ready to turn noise into momentum, and Anfield back into a place where visiting sides no longer “enjoy themselves.”