After proving decisive in both the Premier League title race and in delivering European football to Bournemouth, it’s pretty remarkable that Liverpool aren’t on the phone to Andoni Iraola.
The Cherries boss has already decided he won’t be renewing his contract, so will be available this summer and surely heading into a big job.
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Except, bizarrely enough, that those big jobs don’t seem to be presenting themselves, with Chelsea instead hiring Xabi Alonso and Manchester United making Michael Carrick’s position permanent after an impressive interim spell.
This could perhaps even lead Iraola to be set for the Crystal Palace job, which, with all the respect in the world to Palace, seems a little beneath a man of his abilities.
This seems like a no-brainer for Liverpool – why not go for one of the best managers in the Premier League after such a dire season from Arne Slot?
Andoni Iraola opportunity is too good for Liverpool to miss
Iraola has done a superb job at Bournemouth, guiding them to sixth place in the Premier League table, and what could even be Champions League football depending on the outcome of tonight’s Europa League final and the final game of the Premier League season this weekend.
Yes, Bournemouth are a superbly well-run club whose top-to-bottom structure arguably makes it easy for almost any manager to shine there, but then, wouldn’t it then logically also follow that being a well-run club means hiring really good managers?
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With time, it’s surely going to look like a big mistake for clubs like Chelsea and United to pass up on Iraola when they had the chance, but it’s not too late for Liverpool to change course.
Slot did great work to guide LFC to the title last season, but the drop-off since then cannot be ignored – there is a crisis at Anfield, with the Dutch tactician being given months now to turn things around and failing to show any signs of doing so.
Iraola now looks like an ideal option to replace Slot, and he remains available after the decisions made by Chelsea and United. But if Liverpool wait much longer, they’re surely only going to end up looking very silly in a few months’ time.
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