Ornstein reveals Iraola is set to leave Bournemouth after Spaniard is tipped to ‘speak’ to Liverpool | OneFootball

Andoni Iraola will leave Bournemouth at the end of the season after the Premier League club failed to tie him down to a new deal, according to reports.

The Cherries finished 11th in their first season under the Spaniard in 2023/24 before a top-half finish was secured last term as they continue to make progress under Iraola.

Bournemouth are only three points off sixth-placed Chelsea this campaign after their brilliant 2-1 victory over Premier League leaders Arsenal over the weekend.

But the Cherries will have to manage without Iraola next term as David Ornstein of The Athletic has revealed that the head coach ‘will leave Bournemouth when his contract expires at the end of this season’.

Bournemouth ‘tried everything possible’ to keep Iraola in situ but they have now turned their attention to replacing the former Rayo Vallecano manager.

According to Ornstein and The Athletic team, Ipswich Town head coach Kieran McKenna ‘features highly in their thinking but other candidates are under consideration’.

Another journalist Ben Jacobs also added on X: ‘Bournemouth did everything in their power to keep Iraola. Parties had 15 months of negotiations. And huge respect remains between the two parties even with Iraola choosing to depart this summer.’

Before revealing that ex-Borussia Dortmund boss Marco Rose is one of the main contenders to replace Iraola ahead of next season, Jacobs continued: ‘Exclusive: Former Dortmund boss Marco Rose is a leading contender to replace the outgoing Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth. Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna is another potential option.’

Ornstein also claimed that Crystal Palace are interested in Iraola as they look to replace Oliver Glasner, while Athletic Club are also understood to be suitors.

Liverpool could also be a potential option if Fenway Sports Group decide to part ways with Arne Slot with talkSPORT host Adrian Durham tipping the Reds to “speak” to Iraola before the end of the season.

Durham said on talkSPORT earlier this month: “There will definitely be a decision to be made.

“I reckon, with no inside track, that they will keep faith with him, because he’s got enough in the bank over what happened over the course of last season, that they would stick with him for the rest of this season.

“All that would matter is that they finish in the top five to make sure that they were playing Champions League football again next season.

“I think some of the people that you could imagine being his successor are already available. Some of those aren’t, Andoni Iraola for instance.

“Richard Hughes, Liverpool’s technical director, is a massive admirer. Brought him in at Bournemouth, he’s done nothing at Bournemouth that would mean his stock has dropped in any way.

“He’s out of contract in the summer, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he was one that they wanted to speak to, along with the likes of Xabi Alonso and everybody else.”