Liverpool US tour diary - Andoni Iraola's telling answer on transfers as two positions targeted

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Liverpool's interest in Monaco starlet Maghnes Akliouche should come as little surprise for a club continuing to assess the market for wingers this summer.Andoni Iraola reiterated his and the club's more general stance on Tuesday: wide players are the priority right now as the Reds continue to build a squad that will be capable of competing this coming campaign under their new head coach.Asked by the ECHO in his press conference how many players he thought he might need during this critically important period of player trading at Liverpool, Iraola refused to place a figure on it, insisting the fluidity of the market made that a tough assignment.But the Basque coach has been refreshingly frank in his insistence that the squad is far from complete as things stand, detailing it once more at Chicago Fire's Endeavour Performance Centre on Tuesday afternoon."No, I think it is difficult to say a number when the market is open," Iraola said. "You have to be always open to new options to improve the squad.

There are obvious situations where we need to sign players."A winger for example, we definitely need to sign a winger, but there are other situations where we will have to analyse what the market gives you, what is the cost, how we also see the players we have."We have some tricky positions where we have injured players, that we trust, but it is still not the ideal situation, so it will depend on a lot of things."The need for at least one winger this summer bears resemblance to the club's midfield rebuild of 2023 when four were signed for around £150m in Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Alexis Mac Allister, whose surprise links to Real Madrid following the World Cup have been privately panned.This time around, the club's recruitment department is casting its net far and wide for players who can, over time, lead the new era under Iraola.With Yan Diomande and Bradley Barcola being monitored at various points this year alongside the actual £34.5m deal that will bring Victor Munoz to Anfield after his post-World Cup vacation, the profile young, speedy wide players capable of being difference makers at the top end of the pitch is obvious.Liverpool, it's understood, also made initial checks on Monaco's Akliouche when weighing up what might be possible in the post-Mohamed Salah world at Anfield.The 24-year-old Akliouche has also been tracked heavily by Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain and a potential switch to the French capital would further complicate the picture for Barcola, should Diomande get his apparent wish and also leave RB Leipzig for the European champions.A move for a right-sided defender is also being weighed up at present as Liverpool continue to see how Conor Bradley reacts to the long-term knee injury suffered in the goalless draw with Arsenal back in January.Denzel Dumfries, then of Inter, was believed to have been considered in January and former coach Arne Slot wanted to explore a deal to bring his former captain Luthsarel Geertruida to Anfield late in the winter window, only to find a deal too complicated given the RB Leipzig man was on a season-long loan deal with Sunderland at the time.But the exploration of their options at right-back - during a campaign that was fraught with problems on that side of the pitch - is proof that efforts were being made and with Bradley still someway short from a return to 100%, Iraola has conceded Liverpool may have to look once more at defensive cover."I think it depends on the Conor situation, at the end if you have a fully fit, healthy Conor Bradley, we are very happy, ready to go, and we would not be asking ourselves these questions," Iraola said."I think it is a situation that is tricky, because we trust Conor in the long term, we know, we want him to be our right back, but right now he is still a little bit far from returning, so with the centre-back, with the right-back situation, in terms of defensive depth, we are very thin right now. So I think it is a solution that we are trying to find."The fact that Liverpool are looking at right-backs and wingers is at least evidence that they are not simply burying heads in the sand when it comes to improving the squad that Iraola has inherited.In a close-season that has seen Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate all depart for nothing, a proactive and aggressive approach is needed to simply get to par with last season over the strength of the squad.Liverpool have always been loathe to disturb the equilibrium of the squad too much when it comes to numbers during transfer windows, only refreshing significantly at certain points over the last decade, with 2018 and 2025 being the obvious reference points.But, right now, much more is needed and sporting director Richard Hughes has plenty of work to do to ensure the new coach has all the tools at his disposal to turn things around at Anfield.FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE!

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