Andoni Iraola and Richard Hughes watch on as senior Liverpool duo join under-21s in training | OneFootball

Richard Hughes and Andoni Iraola were among the interested onlookers as the Liverpool under-21 squad were put through their paces at the AXA Training Centre on Thursday.

The first batch of senior players are due to report for duty next week, with the new head coach holding his first press conference in the role on Monday morning, as revealed today by David Lynch (via X).

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The Spaniard and the sporting director have renewed their working relationship on Merseyside, having been together at Bournemouth during the 2023/24 campaign before the latter’s move to L4.

Hughes and Iraola spotted at training session

On Thursday afternoon, the official LFC website shared a collection of photos from today’s training session in Kirkby, one of which shows Hughes and Iraola watching on whilst standing side by side.

Although the session comprised mostly the under-21 squad, there were a couple of notable first-team players involved on the grass, with images showing Harvey Elliott and new arrival Jeremy Jacquet being put to work.

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Hughes ‘fully focused’ on Liverpool despite exit speculation

While we’re sure that Hughes and Iraola will be maintaining daily conversation behind the scenes at Liverpool, it was nonetheless noteworthy to see them pictured alongside each other at the training session this afternoon.

The sporting director has been the subject of speculation over a potential exit to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, although he’s understood to remain ‘fully focused’ on the Reds’ summer transfer business and supporting the head coach in the marketplace (The Athletic).

The fans aren’t expecting a repeat of last summer’s £446m trolley dash, especially with so many rumoured targets involved at the World Cup, but they’ll still want to see some new faces coming through the door this month.

For Elliott and Jacquet, their involvement in today’s session suggests that the former is yearning to make up for his abortive loan spell at Aston Villa last term, and the latter is determined to make an instant impression behind the scenes after his £60m move from Rennes.

They’ll have a slight head start on their senior teammates who are due to report to Kirkby next week, and it’ll be compelling to see how heavily they’re involved in Liverpool’s pre-season matches in the United States later this month.

Slowly but surely, the 2026/27 campaign is swinging into view. For everyone associated with the Reds, let’s hope it’s a darn sight better than what 2025/26 had been.