Six more Liverpool stars could walk away as Andoni Iraola set to face familiar £74m issue

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

SportFootballLiverpool FCA familiar issue is set to haunt new Liverpool manager Andoni IraolaAndoni Iraola is facing a potential mass exodus at Liverpool with six first-team stars’ contracts set to expire next summer. Iraola was confirmed as Liverpool’s new head coach on Thursday, signing a two-year deal with the Reds after impressing during his three-year tenure at Bournemouth.It followed Arne Slot’s sacking after a dismal second season in charge - a year after his Premier League title win.

But Iraola will already need to manage without one of Slot’s first-choice defenders, Ibrahima Konate, due to the Frenchman’s departure as a free agent.The club confirmed last week that Konate would leave at the end of his contract this summer after talks over a new deal failed to reach an agreement. Latest Reds news and more on our dedicated Facebook pageYet, Iraola may need to brace himself for several similar exits over the next 12 months, as six more players’ contracts expire this time next year.

Captain Virgil van Dijk, Curtis Jones, Alisson Becker, Joe Gomez, Wataru Endo and Stefan Bajcetic - should they not sign fresh terms before then - will all leave for free in a year’s time.It puts Iraola in a difficult position, given that he will not know which of the aforementioned stars he can rely on in the long-term. Due to Liverpool not selling them soon enough, their valuations plummet once they approach the end of their contracts, meaning their values cannot be recouped - or they simply leave as free agents.Reds bosses haven’t learned from their mistakes last year, when their three key players Van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s futures were up in the air for much of the season and served as an unwelcome distraction.In the end, Alexander-Arnold was the only one to leave in the summer of 2025, much to the fury of the Anfield faithful, though the club recouped a small sum due to him joining Real Madrid earlier than the free agency deadline.Salah and Van Dijk signed short term contracts, but the pair held all the power during negotiations, just as the aforementioned players do now.