Andoni Iraola poised to become Liverpool's new head coach

Andoni Iraola is close to being confirmed as Liverpool’s new head coach after agreeing a deal in principle to succeed Arne Slot.

Iraola has been in talks with Liverpool’s sporting director, Richard Hughes, over replacing Slot after the Dutchman was sacked on Saturday. As expected, negotiations have progressed quickly and the Spaniard is set to sign a two-year contract at Anfield. Iraola has favoured short-term deals throughout his coaching career.

The former Bournemouth head coach, who was appointed at the south coast club by Hughes in 2023, wants to bring assistants Tommy Elphick and Shaun Cooper, analyst Tom Webber and fitness coach Pablo de la Torre with him to Merseyside. Slot’s backroom team of Sipke Hulshoff, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Ruben Peeters are all leaving with the club’s former head coach.

Liverpool want to complete their managerial switch before the World Cup starts on 11 June to give the new head coach ample time to prepare for what promises to be a hectic summer. They are well within that timeframe, and Iraola is set to be installed before the end of this week.

The 43-year-old was the leading candidate for the Anfield vacancy with his style of play fitting Liverpool’s criteria for the front-footed, aggressive approach they felt was lacking in Slot’s second season. He is available having left Bournemouth when his contract expired at the end of the season.

Ibrahima Konaté, meanwhile, looks poised to join Real Madrid on a free transfer having failed to reach an agreement on a new contract at Liverpool. The France international claimed in April that an agreement to extend his Anfield career was close but ultimately Liverpool did not meet his salary demands.

Real were heavily linked with Konaté earlier in the season and are believed to have offered the 27-year-old a four-year contract to join this summer. He would become the second Liverpool defender to move to the Bernabéu in 12 months following Trent Alexander-Arnold.