Antoine Semenyo warns Liverpool players as Sky Sports drop massive Andoni Iraola news | OneFootball

Liverpool are in ‘advanced negotiations’ to bring Andoni Iraola on board as their next head coach.

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Florian Plettenberg reports that the Spanish manager, who is set to depart Bournemouth this summer, is considered the club’s ‘top candidate’ to replace Arne Slot.

The Dutchman has been handed his marching orders after helping the Merseysiders bring in a 20th Premier League title in 2024/25.

Andoni Iraola is Liverpool’s top choice to replace Arne Slot

As the Sky Sports journalist confirmed on X (formerly Twitter), it seems that Iraola’s negotiations with Bayer Leverkusen are set to be dashed upon the rocks.

With all due respect to the former Bundesliga champions, of course, when Liverpool come calling, there are few other jobs in world football that feel more enticing.

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We haven’t put all our eggs in the 43-year-old’s basket, however, it should be emphasised. VfB Stuttgart’s very impressive head coach Sebastian Hoeneß, while RC Lens boss Pierre Sage is another name believed to have been floated around the halls of power at the AXA training centre.

Iraola fits the bill of what Liverpool are looking for

If reports are to be believed, the club’s ownership have been holding some concerns over the trajectory of our playing style.

Fair concerns, you’d have to say, given that we’ve apparently sacrificed press-heavy, aggressive football in favour of Slot’s risk-averse, possession-focused style of play.

But the so-called “safety” or control we were supposed to be enjoying under the Dutchman has been largely non-existent this term.

Better, then, that we see Liverpool return to a style of play that sits closer to the heart of what this club is. Not to mention, ultimately, the kind of football the fans want to see on the terraces.

Andoni Iraola will give us that in buckets. Just take a read here of what Antoine Semenyo had to say about his old coach on the south coast (In The Mixer): “When he came in, he had his way of playing, and it was very new to us.

“The way he structured the weeks, we didn’t really have any days off. Nothing. It’s very hard for a team to have Wednesdays and Sundays off, to no days off.

“We would play on Saturday, train on Sunday. The players that are in the starting XI would do the first 30-40 minutes of the session. You’re hanging, your legs are gone! And you’re doing possession, you’re having to run around. And you’re thinking, ‘Oh, dear’.”

Yeah, we don’t mind that. We don’t mind that at all.

Anything to get this group of players playing the kind of high-octane, press-heavy football that was our trademark under Jurgen Klopp.

We just hope everyone at the club’s prepared for a significant culture shift this coming pre-season.