It's now inevitable club legend will return to Liverpool | OneFootball

It's now inevitable that a club legend will return to Liverpool.

With Arne Slot's time at Liverpool now in the rear-view mirror, attention has quickly shifted to the man expected to replace him. And if the latest reports are accurate, Andoni Iraola looks set to be the next manager through the door at Anfield.

The Spaniard has earned plenty of admirers for the work he has done at Bournemouth.

Not only has he transformed them into one of the Premier League's most entertaining sides, but he has also guided the club into European competition. It's the kind of achievement that naturally attracts attention from clubs operating at the very top of the game.

For Liverpool, Iraola appears to tick a lot of boxes. His teams are energetic, fearless and proactive. They press aggressively, attack with intent and play with a clear identity. Just as importantly, he comes across as someone who can build a strong connection with both supporters and players.

That sense of clarity was often missing under Slot. While there were positive moments during his spell in charge, Liverpool rarely looked like a team fully committed to a particular style of play.

At times, the Reds seemed caught between different ideas, unsure whether to prioritise control, intensity or pragmatism.

The result was a side that often lacked consistency from one week to the next. There were flashes of quality, but not always a clear long-term vision behind them.

Iraola brings something different. Throughout his managerial career, he has remained loyal to a defined philosophy and has never been afraid to back his own ideas. He knows exactly how he wants his teams to play and has the confidence to stick with that approach.

That belief could prove invaluable as Liverpool begin a new chapter. The excitement surrounding Iraola is understandable, but turning potential into success will be the challenge that awaits him.

It's not going to be an easy task for the Spaniard. He will need all the help he can get to get things to turn a corner.

Implementing his heavy pressing and direct style of football is going to take time given this current Liverpool squad are not used to playing in that kind of system.

Things have been so much slower and measured under Slot. Now the direction is leaning more towards a Jurgen Klopp style of play and in order to implement that, Iraola needs patience.

Getting the fitness levels back to what they were is the most important in order for Liverpool to be more successful.

However, Iraola will face challenges he has never faced before, too.

Aside from the pressure of working for a big club, he will also have to understand that a lot of teams are going to sit deep against this Liverpool team and limit the effectiveness of his counter-pressing style.

Iraola is going to have to come up with a solution on how to breakdown low-blocks just as Klopp had to do.

For that, he should be looking to seek the council of a former Liverpool legend.

According to David Lynch speaking on Anfield Index the information he has received is that it's likely that Liverpool are going to have a former player as part of Iraola's coaching staff.

And who could the perfect former player be?

Thiago Alcantara. The Liverpool legend has just finished a coaching stint at Barcelona where he learned from Hansi Flick, who is known for his pressing and intense style but also knows how to unlock deep-lying defences.

The intel he will have gained there on top of the fact that Thiago himself had this uncanny ability to unlock defences makes him the ideal candidate for an assistant role.

There's also the Spanish connection, which just points to this move being inevitable. Based on the information available it's now looking pretty much guaranteed that Thiago will be coming back to Anfield.