Monday represents the start of the new era at Liverpool. Having been appointed as the Reds new head coach back on 4 June, Andoni Iraola will speak to the media for the very first time on Monday morning at 11AM (BST) at the AXA Training Centre.
The vast majority of supporters are excited about this new appointment, but are eager to hear what he has to say, so here are three things to listen out for when the Spaniard addresses the press.
Andoni Iraola's tactical vision for Liverpool
Following that miserable 4-2 defeat at Villa Park towards the end of last season, former forward Mohamed Salah called for Liverpool to return to "being the heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear". Well, the departing Egyptian may be getting his wish. Iraola spent the vast majority of his playing career at Athletic Club, with Marcelo Bielsa among his coaching mentors.
Thus, since becoming a manager himself, that is how Iraola teams have always played. Rayo Vallecano regularly beat Barcelona in this style, but the clearest example of the 44 year old's vision came during his time at Bournemouth.
The Cherries always ranked highly when it came to passes per defensive action (PPDA), a statistic used to measure pressing and turnovers in the final third.
If he is able to replicate that at Anfield, the Liverpool faithful will be hoping to enjoy a team similar to peak Jurgen Klopp, which was not only successful, but also exhilarating and terrifying for opposition players and supporters alike. The Reds last season were certainly none of those things.
Of course, to date, Iraola has only ever managed AEK Larnaca in Cyprus, Segunda División side Mirandés, Rayo Vallecano and Bournemouth, so being in charge of Liverpool is an entirely different challenge. Thus, it'll be interesting to see what he has to say about the pressures of leading one of the biggest clubs on the planet.
2. Pre-season player availability
This will be a disrupted pre-season for all leading clubs around the world. Liverpool had ten World Cup representatives, only 11 clubs worldwide had more. Even though all of them aside from Alexis Mac Allister and new recruit Víctor Munoz are now on holiday, Iraola will only be working with an extremely truncated squad to start with, as well as for the stateside friendly against Sunderland, Wrexham and Leeds United.
Thus, only the following players are due back for training this week:
Liverpool players reporting for pre-season training on 14 July
- Goalkeepers: Giorgi Mamardashvili, Freddie Woodman & Ármin Pécsi.
- Defenders: Jeremie Frimpong, Jérémy Jacquet, Joe Gomez, Kostas Tsimikas & Miloš Kerkez.
- Midfielders: Dominik Szoboszlai, Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones, Trey Nyoni & James McConnell.
- Forwards: Federico Chiesa & Rio Ngumoha.
As things stand, Iraola has only just about got enough players to put out an XI with a few substitutes. Had Hungary qualified for the World Cup, this group would resemble the sort of squad taken to a League One side for an early EFL Cup tie. That 2019 defeat at Villa Park when the first-team were in Qatar for the Club World Cup springs to mind.
Thus, it'll be interesting to see what Iraola says when asked about World Cup players' return dates. Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and the Dutch trio headed home on 29/30 June after exiting in the round of 32, so will they be back in time for the first pre-season fixtures? Meantime, do returning loanees Kostas Tsimikas and Harvey Elliott have a future, certainly set for a chance to stake a claim.
Also what is the latest on Liverpool's long-term injuries? Hugo Ekitiké suffered a serious Achilles injury against Paris Saint-Germain in April, which must be soul-crushing for him, as he would have been a key figure for potential World Cup winners France. Conor Bradley, Wataru Endō and Stefan Bajčetić were spotted at the training centre this week so will Iraola bring us up to speed on this trio too?
3. Solving Liverpool's leadership void
Beyond just at managerial level, it is a summer of change for Liverpool. Andy Robertson, Ibrahima Konaté and Salah, who made over 1,000 appearances for the club combined, have all departed, with Curtis Jones potentially set to follow them out the exit door.
Robertson was vice-captain, deputy to Virgil van Dijk, with Salah also a member of the leadership group, alongside the remaining Alisson and Joe Gomez. So, who does Iraola view as leaders in his squad, and who will he make vice-captain?
Well, all these question and more will be put to the new Liverpool head coach on Monday morning, and we'll have everything covered here at Rush the Kop. So, check back in shortly after 11am (BST) on Monday morning for all the quotes, reaction and analysis.
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