Andoni Iraola leaves Liverpool training ground after Richard Hughes meeting

Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from Liverpool.com or go back to LFC Live.

Liverpool is closing in on the appointment of Andoni Iraola, who will take over as head coach from Arne Slot ahead of another important summer for Richard HughesAndoni Iraola leaves Liverpool's training ground with sporting director Richard Hughes behind(Image: Peter Powell)Incoming new Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola has been spotted leaving the Reds' training ground ahead of confirmation that he will take over from Arne Slot at Anfield.Iraola, 43, was in charge of Bournemouth for three seasons and was originally appointed there by Richard Hughes, who is now the sporting director at Liverpool, a role that he has held for two years.Slot was fired last Saturday after a disappointing campaign in which the Reds limped over the line and into the Champions League places, with Liverpool understood to be attracted to Iraola's more intense and aggressive style of play.Iraola has widely been reported to be signing a two-year contract with Liverpool. This is in line with what he has done previously, explaining in 2025 that he would rather work on a short-term basis with the option to extend."I think the only time I’ve signed two years is here for Bournemouth," Iraola told BBC Radio Solent last October."Not that I’m relaxed, I don’t want to continue at a club just because I have a contract, I want to continue because both sides are happy and they want to continue together.Content cannot be displayed without consent"In the manager’s case, I think contracts are not as important as the players’ cases because, in the end, you have to get results."We can have whatever contract I have, if I don’t get results in three, four months, I will be in danger."It’s in Bournemouth and in every club, so I try to focus in the short-term, do your job, get your results, and then normally, everything is fine."In Spain, probably it’s different, and with Rayo Vallecano I used to renew a lot of times after the decision.

I renewed two times after the decision, but I understand that here, the times normally are different in England."Get Liverpool's new 2026/27 home kitThis article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn moreLiverpool FC have launched their new home kit for the 2026/27, inspired by iconic adidas strip worn during the club's 1989/90 title-winning campaign.Iraola finished 12th in season one (48 points) and ninth in season two (56 points).

In the campaign just gone, even though Bournemouth went two months without a win at one point, the team finished sixth on 57 points — three fewer than Liverpool.Liverpool.com says: Iraola is a risk in some ways, but the only way to find out if he can make the leap up to a much bigger club is by giving him the opportunity.His body of work on the south coast has been excellent and Iraola has a style of play that will get fans excited again. That was important after a season in which there was lots of frustration at Anfield.