Five leftfield alternatives to Andoni Iraola that could become Liverpool’s next manager | OneFootball

Andoni Iraola is the clear favourite to succeed Arne Slot as Liverpool manager after the bombshell news emerged that the Dutch coach will part ways with the club.

Xabi Alonso had long been linked with a return to Merseyside during Slot’s struggles this season, but the former Liverpool midfielder has recently signed a long-term deal to become Chelsea’s next manager.

Iraola has done a superb job at Bournemouth, leading them to the Europa League, and it would make sense for him to reunite with Liverpool’s sporting director Richard Hughes, with whom he worked alongside down on the south coast.

But might they look elsewhere? We’ve compiled five leftfield managerial options that Liverpool could take a look at.

Inigo Perez

Andoni Iraola’s former right-hand man at Rayo Vallecano looked set to join him at Bournemouth, but work permit issues stopped him making the trip.

The former Athletic Bilbao midfielder ended up taking over at Rayo in 2024, and he’s done just as good a job – arguably even better – at Vallecas as Iraola did before him.

Perez waved a tearful goodbye to the hardcore fans after their defeat to Crystal Palace in the UEFA Conference League final, but getting them one step away from a European trophy was a remarkable achievement in itself.

This is a club that has never won anything, with well-documented issues behind the scenes.

A similar step to Iraola to a sensibly run club (Crystal Palace?) would probably be the natural next step, as with Iraola before him, but Liverpool could do worse than fast-tracking him straight to the top.

Kjetil Knutsen

The man behind the remarkable rise of Norwegian minnows Bodo/Glimt.

We have major question marks over his ability to adapt from the minor Norwegian league to the elite level of the Premier League, but we’d be fascinated to see how it’d work out.

Anyone with the ability to mastermind victories of Atletico Madrid and Manchester City, before knocking out Italian champions Inter over two legs, with the size of Bodo/Glimt’s relatively meagre resources, is surely worthy of testing himself at a higher level.

Sebastian Hoeness

The nephew of Bayern Munich legend Uli Hoeness, it would be no great surprise to see him eventually succeed Vincent Kompany at the Allianz when the time comes.

Liverpool fans might be award of Hoeness’ excellent track record in the Bundesliga after he’s been touted as a potential option to replace Slot over the course of the 2025-26 campaign.

Over the past few years, he’s done a superb job to turn Stuttgart from relegation candidates to one that belong at the other end of the table. Stuttgart finished 2nd, ahead of Bayern, in 2023-24, they won the DFB Pokal the following season, and reached the final while finishing a respectable fourth place last term.

He’ll have another go at the Champions League next season, you’d think, but he’s surely taken Stuttgart as far as he can.

Pierre Sage

The Lens coach was recently asked by French television Telefoot what his dream job would be. His answer? Liverpool.

Not only does he boast one of the coolest names in football, but he’s quietly established himself as one of the most promising coaches in European football.

The 47-year-old had Lens challenging Luis Enrique’s all-conquering PSG for the Ligue 1 title, as well as the Coupe de France.

He was named Ligue 1’s Manager of the Year and will surely be linked with bigger jobs in the coming months and years.

Xavi Hernandez

To be fair, one of the greatest midfielders of all time, whose last job was at Barcelona, is stretching the definition of “leftfield”. Just a bit.

But we do find it a bit curious that Xavi’s name is never mentioned with any seriousness when it comes to the top jobs.

Sure, his Barca team weren’t as easy on the eye as they were in his day as a player, or now under Hansi Flick, but they were defensively sound, organised, and winning a La Liga title when the club was at the height of its financial mismanagement was no mean feat.

You could certainly make an argument that Xavi is worthy of another big opportunity after the work he did at Barcelona. Not least that he demonstrated a surprising degree of pragmatism for an arch Cruyffist, something that could well make him suited to adapting to a new league and environment.