Liverpool Sacks Arne Slot, Appoints Andoni Iraola as Manager
In a surprising turn of events, Arne Slot’s second season at Liverpool ended abruptly as news of his dismissal broke on the day of the Champions League final. Slot, who was set to watch Arsenal face Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest, was taken aback by his sacking, which came amid a disappointing campaign for the club.
Andoni Iraola, who previously led Bournemouth to their highest-ever finish, steps in as Slot’s replacement. The Welsh club concluded the season sixth, while Liverpool’s performance saw them finish fifth—marking their lowest points tally in 14 years and their highest number of losses in 33. Despite a remarkable 18-match unbeaten run at Bournemouth, Iraola takes on a significant challenge with the Reds.
Critics argue that it is unfair to assume that Iraola must simply rectify Slot’s failures. While Slot did not win the league in his first season, similar to successful predecessors like Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, or Jurgen Klopp, he also faced different pressures than those coaches. In contrast, Iraola’s rapid, transitional style has positioned him at the forefront of current football trends, potentially sharing more similarities to Klopp’s renowned “heavy metal” approach.
One significant hurdle for Slot during his term was the growing discontent among Liverpool fans. Iraola, however, will be hoping for a fresh start, knowing that the Anfield crowd is known for its support. He will need to hit the ground running, unlike his slow start with Bournemouth, where he struggled for victories early on.
Despite Slot’s departure, many of Liverpool’s complications remain. Their sharp decline from first to fifth came after a record £450m spent on signings, with recent acquisitions pushing their total expenditure to roughly £550m in just over a year. Critics point out the squad’s inadequacies, indicating imbalances that Iraola will need to address.
Slot’s tenure was marked by high-profile flops, notably £125m striker Alexander Isak, who managed only four goals last season. The upcoming campaign holds similar stakes, especially as Iraola plans to utilize Isak alongside Florian Wirtz, who is expected to take on a central role.
Liverpool has secured defensive reinforcements in Jacquet, who joined from Rennes, and Ronald Araujo on loan from Barcelona. However, the squad’s defensive fragility remains a concern.
The club aims to capitalize on the promise of young talents while also seeking to rebound after a poor performance last season, during which they conceded 53 Premier League goals. With key players like Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate out, the defensive demands will heavily rest on Virgil van Dijk.
One recent addition to the club is notable for a different reason—Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is part of the 1892 consortium that has taken a minority stake in Liverpool. Although this investment has not altered the transfer budget, it raises hopes for future enhancements.
Amid this roster rebuild, the central figure appears to be Dominik Szoboszlai, who could assume a deeper role in the midfield and is likely to be named vice-captain. Meanwhile, every other player has something to prove, including Iraola himself, who transitions from a less prominent club to one of football’s giants.
Liverpool started last season as title favorites following a victory over Iraola’s Bournemouth, yet their trajectory has shifted dramatically. As the club strives for improvement, the focus will be on preventing last season’s downturn from becoming a long-term trend.
Arne Slot may have hoped his second season with Liverpool would reach a dramatic conclusion on the day of the Champions League final. And so it did, but in keeping with Slot’s year, not quite in the manner intended. Arsenal were preparing to face Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest when news emerged from Merseyside of Slot’s sacking. It was a surprise to the Dutchman himself.
Enter Andoni Iraola, whose new club finished side-by-side with his old employers in the table. Sixth was Bournemouth’s highest ever finish; fifth brought Liverpool’s lowest points tally for 14 years, with their most defeats in all competitions for 33. In contrast, Iraola finished off unbeaten in 18 Premier League games with Bournemouth.
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It is unfair to say Iraola’s task is to be the opposite of Slot: recency bias should not obscure the reality that the Dutchman, unlike Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley or Jurgen Klopp, won the league in his debut campaign. And yet it was not merely that long undefeated run and overachievement that made the Basque everything Slot was not.
Andoni Iraola is aiming to bring high-intensity football back to Anfield (PA)
Premier League football changed rapidly in his two-season reign. Slot became the right man for the right time and then, seemingly, a man out of time; Iraola’s quicker, more transitional football put him in the vanguard of the Zeitgeist. It may offer more similarities with Klopp’s “heavy metal” style of play. Another difficulty for Slot was that the Liverpool crowd turned against him; Iraola must hope that Anfield’s reputation for backing managers is restored in his tenure. It would help if he can start better than he did at Bournemouth, when his first nine league matches did not yield a victory.
But if Slot is gone, many of Liverpool’s issues remain. They could be Iraola’s problems now. Liverpool’s descent from first to fifth came in a season when they spent a record £450m on signings and the arrivals of Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz take their outlay in 15 months to nearer £550m. Yet the squad looks unfinished: too slender in some areas, too unconvincing in others. In a way, Slot flourished with Jurgen Klopp’s players and floundered with his own; although, in reality, sporting director Richard Hughes and the now-departed Michael Edwards had more responsibility for recruitment.
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There is a case for arguing that Alexander Isak finished off Slot; it would be an irony, given that the £125m striker finished too little else in a season when he scored a mere four goals and ranked as the most costly of failures. With Hugo Ekitike out for the early months of the season – sparing Iraola the question of how to use the Frenchman and Isak, to which Slot seemed to have no answer – Liverpool’s fortunes could rest on the Swede.
Iraola’s immediate idea has been to pair him with the other £100m man, using Florian Wirtz as a No 10 after he alternated positions in his mixed first season. But Iraola’s attack-minded football involves an emphasis on wingers, and Liverpool are yet to replace arguably the greatest in their history. Mohamed Salah’s decline was a reason for the side’s slump, but while Liverpool had months to prepare for his departure, finding a successor for the scorer of 257 goals was never going to be easy and always promised to be expensive. But Yan Diomande instead ended up at Real Madrid while Liverpool deem Paris Saint-Germain’s current valuation of Bradley Barcola excessive. Liverpool could look lopsided with their three main wingers – Cody Gakpo, one of last season’s many underachievers, Rio Ngumoha, who is primed for a bigger role, and Munoz – all preferring the left.
Iraola needs Alexander Isak to be a success at Anfield (Getty)
One arrival, of sorts, is one of the richest people ever, with the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos part of the 1892 consortium who are taking a minority share in the club. It has not altered the transfer budget, though.
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Liverpool’s other additions are at the back: Jacquet, whose £55m move from Rennes was arranged in January, and Ronald Araujo, borrowed from Barcelona after it became clear they risked being derailed for another year by defensive injuries. As it is, Conor Bradley will be out until November; at least Iraola’s brand of football may better suit Milos Kerkez, who excelled for him at Bournemouth, and Jeremie Frimpong, rarely trusted to play right-back by Slot.
But it is inauspicious that Liverpool conceded 53 Premier League goals, and 78 in all competitions, last year. They have since lost Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate, which, in different ways, could add to the burden on Virgil van Dijk. In Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni, Liverpool may have the future. They still have to negotiate the present.
Liverpool are once again placing too much of a burden on the 35-year-old Van Dijk in defence (Getty)
And while, Isak apart, nearly all of their money has been spent on players for the long term, the short term feels uncertain. While Ngumoha offered promise, while Ekitike delivered 17 goals, it was an indictment of everyone else that the shortlist for their player of the year could only really contain one name: Dominik Szoboszlai, scorer of 13 goals, maker of 12, playing everywhere from right-back to No 10.
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The Hungarian seems central to Iraola’s plans, looking earmarked for a role in the middle of midfield and the likeliest candidate for the vice-captaincy. Around him, though, virtually everyone else has something to prove, including a manager who has swapped perhaps the smallest club in the division for one of the two biggest and the powerbrokers whose reputation for fine decision-making has been dented.
It is worth remembering that Liverpool kicked off last season as the favourites for the title, when they beat Iraola’s Bournemouth 4-2 on the opening night. They are not now. The immediate aim has to be, simply, improvement, to ensure that 2025-26 was a one-season dip rather than the belated start of an extended struggle in life after Klopp.
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