Anfield is no stranger to transitional summers, but the landscape greeting Andoni Iraola as he stepped into the media spotlight on Monday afternoon feels particularly like a new revoloution at Liverpool is underway.
With Mohamed Salah’s glittering, trophy-laden era on Merseyside officially came to an end at the end of the 2025/26 season, the Basque head coach faces an immediate headache: how do you replace the irreplaceable?
The Reds have already begun the process of reshaping the squad, with winger Victor Munoz secured as the first arrival of the Iraola era. But make no mistake, further reinforcements are required if the Reds are to navigate the grueling realities of a Premier League campaign.
To fund those upgrades, however, sporting director Richard Hughes may need to sanction a few departures although his future at the club is very much in doubt also but at the time of writing he still on Merseyside despite heavy speculation regarding an exit.
Yet, as Iraola navigates his way through his first pre-season on Merseyside which set to kick off on July 20 the solution to his biggest tactical headache might not require a record-breaking layout in the transfer market. In fact, he might find it in a returning player with a point to prove.
To say Harvey Elliott’s career has stalled over the last twelve months would be an understatement. Under Arne Slot’s brief tenure, the young midfielder found himself firmly on the periphery, a victim of a tactical system that rarely accommodated his specific skillset which wasn't the case under Jurgen Klopp hence why it was so surprising to so many supporters it wasn't decline it was more being out of favour and frozen out.
The search for regular football led him to Aston Villa on an initial loan deal. On paper, it was a move designed to become permanent. The terms were simple: an obligation to buy would be triggered the moment Elliott made 10 appearances for the Midlands club. It seemed a formality.
Instead, it became a frustrating and disappointing loan spell in Birmingham.
Unai Emery, despite guiding Villa to a fourth-place finish and a Europa League title, strictly managed Elliott’s minutes. The 23-year-old was capped at exactly nine appearances across all competitions. Whether by financial design or tactical preference, the plug was pulled just one game short of the trigger point.
Had Slot remained in the Anfield dugout, Elliott would likely have been sold and going towards the exit door this summer. But football moves fast. With Iraola now at the helm, the slate has been wiped clean and he's been given a lifeline.
The right-wing void and the golden dust of the market
Over the past year, the club kept close tabs on both Yan Diomande and Antoine Semenyo. While deals for both targets felt close to completion at various intervals, neither ultimately made the move to L4.
Now, with Salah gone, the right side of Liverpool's attack is gaping.
While the versatile Federico Chiesa and the dynamic Jeremie Frimpong can operate along that flank when called upon, neither represents the long-term, specialised quality required to spearhead a sustained title charge after a fifth placed finish last term.
Elliott represents a highly intriguing internal solution. Though predominantly utilised as a central midfielder under Jurgen Klopp, Elliott’s breakthrough years were spent drifting inward from the right wing.
He possesses the vision, the tight-space navigation, and the keen eye for goal that Iraola’s high-intensity system demands.
We are, after all, only a year removed from Elliott dominating the Under-21 European Championships as England’s standout performer. Reclaiming that level of performance is the challenge.\
If Elliott is looking for a manager willing to trust him, Iraola’s early public backing suggests he has found his man. Speaking to the club’s official website, the new head coach made no secret of his admiration for the player's attitude upon returning to Merseyside.
"Definitely Harvey is here with us, he has come also, I have seen him with this eagerness of showing himself, getting himself ready again," Iraola said. "He will have a chance during the pre-season. We will need him and it’s a good sign he came one week earlier."Andoni Iraola
The fact that Elliott chose to cut his summer short to train with the Under-21s at the AXA Training Centre has clearly struck a chord with the Basque boss.
"He’s been training with the U21s and I hope we can see him in a good place," Iraola continued. "I think Harvey comes from… especially last season had to be very difficult for him because it was a strange situation where basically they couldn’t even put him to play. I think he uses this, what he has experienced – the bad situation he has experienced – to make him even more eager to be a Liverpool player, yes."Andoni Iraola
It is a public show of faith that Elliott desperately needed after the frustration of his Villa Park limbo. Pre-season campaigns are often dismissed as fitness exercises, but for Elliott, the upcoming warm-up fixtures represent the most critical weeks of his professional career if he wants to be a first team regular.
If he can grasp the opportunity Iraola is offering, he won't just resurrect his Liverpool career he could save the club a fortune in the transfer market.
Add us as a preferred source on Google