Andoni Iraola's Liverpool: Retaining Mac Allister and Rebuilding the Squad
Andoni Iraola is only a few weeks into the job at Liverpool, but he already knows the battle lines of his first summer: keep Alexis Mac Allister, replace giants, and rebuild on the fly.
The new manager did not duck the subject. Mac Allister, a World Cup winner with Argentina and one of Liverpool’s standout performers last season, has two years left on his deal and is repeatedly linked with a move to Madrid. The noise around him is growing, but Iraola’s stance is blunt.
“I think Alexis has been one of the best players of the club last year and has done a very good World Cup,” he said. Interest from elsewhere? Inevitable. Losing him? Not part of the plan.
“It is normal that other clubs want our best players, our good players, it always happens in other markets. But I want to, also as other clubs want, I want to keep my good players. Probably I'm looking forward more to signing new players than the ones we have here.”
Mac Allister is due back with the squad after the break, returning from a long, draining cycle that took him all the way to the World Cup final. His absence is temporary. The speculation is not. For Iraola, the priority is to make sure the midfielder’s future is written on Merseyside, not in the Spanish capital.
Holes Left by Departures
If Mac Allister is the player Liverpool are desperate to keep, the list of those they have already lost reads like a warning. Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, Ibrahima Konaté: three pillars of recent Liverpool sides, three gaping holes in the current one.
Iraola did not pretend otherwise. He called the need for new signings “obvious” after those high-profile exits. This is not a squad that needs a light touch; it needs surgery.
The most urgent task sits out wide. The recruitment team is scouring the market for a winger, a position Iraola himself highlighted without hesitation.
“I think it is difficult to say a number. When the market is open, you have to be always open to new options to improve the squad,” he said. Then came the key line. “There are obvious situations where we need to sign players. Winger for example, we definitely need to sign a winger, but there are other situations where we will have to analyse what the market gives you, what is the cost, how we also see the players we have.”
So the blueprint is clear. A winger is non-negotiable. Beyond that, Liverpool will move where opportunity, budget and faith in their own youngsters intersect.
Injuries, Fine Margins and a Moving Target
The complexity of this window is not just about outgoings and wish lists. Injuries are quietly shaping the strategy.
“We have some tricky positions where we have injured players that we trust, but it is still not the ideal situation, so it will depend on a lot of things,” Iraola explained.
That single sentence sums up the fine margins of the coming weeks. If trusted players return to full training quickly, the club can be more selective. If they suffer setbacks, the pressure on the recruitment department spikes.
Iraola is effectively juggling three timelines at once: Mac Allister’s return, the fitness of key squad members, and the closing of the transfer window. Any delay in one can force a decision in another.
American Tour, New Faces, and a Live Audition
While the market swirls in the background, Liverpool’s present is rooted in the United States. The club’s pre-season tour there is more than a commercial exercise; it is Iraola’s testing ground.
The Reds will face Sunderland, Leeds United and Wrexham on American soil. Those matches will carry more meaning than the usual summer friendlies. They are the first real look at a Liverpool side under Iraola’s command, and a live audition for several players whose futures are not yet fixed.
New signings Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz are at the heart of that process. This tour gives the coach a chance to embed his ideas, gauge their adaptation, and measure how quickly they can carry his instructions onto the pitch. For some of the younger players, it may be their only window to convince him they belong in the first-team picture rather than on a loan list.
The staff will use every training session and every minute of game time to assess technical levels, mentality, and suitability to Iraola’s style. Decisions on further recruitment will be shaped by what they see in these weeks, not just by scouting reports and data.
One key piece is still missing from the puzzle. It remains unclear exactly when Mac Allister will rejoin the group in the US and start his own preparations for the new season. When he does step back into the fold, he will bring quality, control and a champion’s mentality.
The real question is whether Liverpool can build a squad around him strong enough to turn this period of upheaval into the foundation of a new era, rather than the first chapter of a slow decline.
