Liverpool setting Andoni Iraola up for failure with lack of squad depth | OneFootball

Any danger of a signing, Liverpool?

It doesn’t even have to be a Bradley Barcola. He’s the big name that keeps getting mentioned as a dream Liverpool target – and what a signing he’d be – but the reality is that those links are distracting from the reality of how quiet the club have been this summer.

Last season was a massive disappointment for Liverpool. It cost Arne Slot his job. But the arrival of a new manager has not opened the floodgates for Liverpool in terms of strengthening their squad.

When Slot replaced Jurgen Klopp in 2024, the only addition to his squad was Federico Chiesa. Fast-forward two curious years and Iraola has only seen Victor Munoz added to his ranks (Jeremy Jacquet is a new signing for Liverpool too, but they already knew that one was happening in February).

Nearly 50 days have passed since Liverpool agreed to sign Munoz, and they have kept their powder dry since.

It’s all well and good letting fans dream with links to Barcola, but the start of the season is fast approaching and Liverpool are short.

Since the end of the season, they’ve lost Mohamed Salah, Ibrahima Konate and Andy Robertson. In their respective positions, they’ve added Munoz (but more for the left-hand side) and Jacquet, and welcomed Kostas Tsimikas back from a loan spell at Roma.

Even considering Salah, Konate and Robertson’s declines, it’s hard to see anything but a net regression. And that from a squad that was underachieving last season.

Iraola has some good players to work with. And while we can’t read too much into pre-season results, one thing that has started to look worrying is Liverpool’s lack of squad depth.

Defence has to be the biggest area of concern and yet reports say Liverpool won’t give Iraola the extra signing he wants. Sure, at centre-back, Liverpool are numerically breaking even. But they were already thin on the ground after Giovanni Leoni’s injury last season.

Liverpool are effectively gambling on Jacquet fitting in seamlessly, Leoni getting back up to speed quickly when he recovers, Van Dijk not declining too much and Joe Gomez staying fit. In reality, none of those are guarantees.

And then there’s the full-back areas. At right-back, Conor Bradley is still on the sidelines, leaving Jeremie Frimpong and Calvin Ramsay as the remaining options.

Frimpong seemed an odd fit for a back four under Slot last season. Will it be any different under Iraola? While those question marks linger, it wouldn’t harm to have a ready-made alternative. Not an injured player and another who’s only made four appearances in the four years since he joined the club.

And on the opposite side, the decision to reintegrate Tsimikas after a loan spell where he found himself out of favour despite usually being the only available player in his position sums up Liverpool’s apparent make-do-and-mend mentality.

Beyond the backline, more numbers wouldn’t harm. The attack is on the light side after Salah’s exit and Hugo Ekitike’s injury, unless Iraola defies his predecessor’s judgement and decides Federico Chiesa is a footballer.

And the midfield could be boosted by Trey Nyoni’s emergence after an eye-catching pre-season, but Curtis Jones’ future still has a question mark given his contract situation.

All in all, it doesn’t sound like a lot of certainties. Liverpool could be in bother here if they’re not careful. A couple more injuries, and where does that leave them?

Let’s not forget their new boss favours a high-pressing approach. It will put strain on his players if they don’t have enough rotation options. Remember how many injuries they suffered when Klopp took over with his swashbuckling style that ran his squad into the ground?

They’re staring down that same risk again unless they get their act together soon.