Andoni Iraola determined to keep key Liverpool players, addresses injuries

Andoni Iraola has said he is determined to keep Alexis Mac Allister and Alisson for his first season as Liverpool head coach and must strengthen a squad that will be without Hugo Ekitiké and Conor Bradley for several more months.

The dust had barely settled on Argentina’s World Cup final defeat by Spain when Mac Allister was linked with a move to Real Madrid. Iraola, in Chicago for the start of Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the US, accepted the midfielder is unlikely to be 100% ready for the Premier League opener at Newcastle due to a post-World Cup holiday. But he allayed doubts over Mac Allister’s long-term future at Liverpool, where he is under contract until 2028, by insisting the 27-year-old is part of next season’s plans.

Iraola said: “I think Alexis has been one of the best players at the club for the last few years, and he has had a very good World Cup, so it is normal that other clubs want our best players. It always happens in other markets. But I want to keep my good players. I’m looking forward more to signing new players rather than losing the ones we have here.”

Alisson is another established figure whose Liverpool future has been questioned, with the Brazil international strongly linked with Juventus at the end of last season. Iraola has not met Alisson or Mac Allister in person due to their World Cup commitments but has spoken with both, and guaranteed the former will remain a Liverpool player next season.

“I am very happy with the situation we have right now in the goalkeeping area,” said Iraola. “We have Alisson, we have Giorgi [Mamardashvili]. Now we are going to send Armin [Pecsi] on loan but we have the guarantee of the three keepers here. Freddie [Woodman] played some games last season, I think it is a guarantee for us.

“Alisson is also someone in a changing room that has lots of references, in terms of experience. He is someone that definitely will help us in this process of adaptation of the new signings and the young players. We need the references like Virgil [van Dijk], Alisson, Joe Gomez; players that have been here for a long time, and I am sure we will have this help.”

Liverpool have brought a young squad on their US tour, which currently involves a training camp at Chicago Fire before the first game against Sunderland in Nashville on Saturday. Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Ryan Gravenberch will join the tour next week when Van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Alisson will begin their pre-season training regimes back on Merseyside.

Iraola admitted Liverpool are “very thin” in terms of defensive numbers and while a fit Bradley would be considered first choice at right-back, his recovery from a serious knee injury sustained in January means the club could be forced into the market.

“Stefan [Bajcetic] and Wataru [Endo] are close to training with the group,” he said. “With the others [injured players], we’ll have to wait more. The closest one to returning after that is [Giovanni] Leoni. Conor and Hugo are way off. We are talking about months.”