Liverpool have long had Andoni Iraola favourite on transfer radar as Bournemouth take steps

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It's not taken long for the first Bournemouth player to be tipped to follow Andoni Iraola to Liverpool. He replaces the sacked Arne Slot and his appointment is reward for his superb work with Bournemouth over the past three seasons.The Cherries have long been shrewd operators in the transfer market but it's what the 43-year-old did with the players at his disposal, and the style of which he got the team playing in, that will have attracted the Reds.And one of the players who came on the most under Iraola was midfielder Alex Scott.Signed by Liverpool's sporting director Richard Hughes when he held the same position at Bournemouth, the 22-year-old has grown into one of the Premier League's top young talents following his £25m move from Bristol City in the summer of 2023.So much so that Scott, along with Reds rising star Rio Ngumoha, was called up by England boss Thomas Tuchel for his pre-World Cup training camp currently taking place in America.That has brought the Guernsey-born midfielder to wider attention with talkSPORT's chief football correspondent, Alex Crook, saying on the station this week that the "noise" is growing about Scott moving to Anfield.He said: "Yeah, that noise seems to be growing, and you can understand why because I think it was a problem last season for Liverpool, that midfield.“(Ryan) Gravenberch and (Alexis) Mac Allister certainly weren’t on the same level, and Alex Scott is a player that Iraola knows well.

Club did the same with (Dean) Huijsen, Rayan and more - ready to replicate model with Scott if player accepts."While we're at that time of year when speculation and gossip is rife, the Reds have long had Scott on their radar.The ECHO reported back in April 2023 that Liverpool were one of a number of Premier League clubs keeping their eye on the then teenager.We wrote: "Liverpool are expected to sign at least two midfielders this summer as Jurgen Klopp looks to revamp his squad after a disappointing campaign. However, that will not include Jude Bellingham, with the Reds having ended their pursuit of the Borussia Dortmund man."With such an important transfer window on the horizon, Liverpool are at present unlikely to keep anything more than a watching brief on Scott, who is untried at the top level but whose potential is such that Bristol City boss Nigel Pearson earlier this year declared the player could command a fee up to £25m."The Reds went on to sign four midfielders that summer - Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo - while Pearson's declaration proved correct as Scott joined Bournemouth for £25m.But with question marks over the futures of Mac Allister and Endo, as well as Curtis Jones, midfield reinforcements could well be on Hughes' and Iraola's agenda, and there are not many players they will know better than Scott, who last week made his feelings for his former boss clear.Speaking while on England duty, Scott said: "He is obviously a great manager, you see what we have done as a club at Bournemouth and how we have progressed over the three seasons he was with us.“I think the way we press out of possession is very aggressive, maybe similar to the early Klopp teams Liverpool had, that fierce aggressiveness and pressing with the wingers.“I would say he is similar to that.

Liverpool fans should definitely be so excited, he has done a lot for me personally.“I have improved loads this season, out of possession and in possession. I feel like I have had his trust.“Defensively, maybe in my first two seasons, I wasn’t at the level to be playing in the Premier League and that is something I had to learn on and learn from the players ahead of me in the team.“But he put his trust in me from the first game of the season and I started and played 34 full games this year, so that is something to be really proud of.