Liverpool Next Manager News: Heavy metal football on the horizon for Liverpool as Iraola nears Anfield switch

‘Heavy metal football’ could be returning to Liverpool, with Andoni Iraola reportedly in line to take over at Anfield next season.

The former Bournemouth boss is a man in demand this summer, after a sublime season on the South Coast that ended with continental qualification for the first time in the club’s history.

In fact, the Cherries almost pipped Liverpool to a Champions League spot, finishing just three points behind Arne Slot’s stuttering outfit.

That dismal end to the campaign ultimately proved to be the Dutch tactician’s undoing, with news emerging that he had been relieved of his duties on Saturday.

And Reds supporters can now look forward to a more exciting brand of football than Slot’s often-pondorous approach, if Iraola is appointed manager in the coming days.

Ahead of the Spaniard’s likely arrival, we’ve taken a look at how things are set to change at Anfield when 2026/27 gets underway.

Slot’s immediate impact

Slot was widely praised for his team’s controlled, possession-focused style in his first season at the club, as Liverpool romped the 2024/25 Premier League title.

Under previous manager Jürgen Klopp, the Reds allowed the second-fewest passes per defensive action (PPDA) in the Premier League during his final year in charge (8.89), but that high-intensity approach only yielded a third-place finish – ten points behind champions Manchester City.

Despite Klopp’s many successes over the years, it was ultimately Slot’s tweaked tactics that saw everything click back into place for Liverpool.

Calmer management of games saw an increase from 456.53 completed passes per 90 in 2023/24 to 508.24 the following year, alongside a rise in overall touches from 715 per 90 to 793.24 – more than any other side bar Manchester City.

That approach yielded obvious results. Despite only adding one senior player – Federico Chiesa – to the squad in the summer of 2025, Liverpool claimed top spot with relative ease.

They ended the campaign ten points clear of runners-up Arsenal, as Slot’s alterations perfected a team largely built by Klopp.

Diminishing returns

Despite that strong start to life at Anfield, a summer of tragedy and upheaval left Slot facing a challenging second season.

The untimely deaths of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva in a car crash last July cannot be underestimated, while the Hardenberg native also had to bed in over £400 million worth of new talent.

Some of those new arrivals were hampered by injury throughout the season, too – most notably £125 million man Alexander Isak and young centre-back Giovanni Leoni, with the latter yet to feature in the league after suffering a torn cruciate ligament.

Regardless, issues with the side were immediately evident, despite a run of seven straight wins across all competitions in August and September.

Liverpool looked far from convincing in a number of those matches and decline eventually set in, with a remarkable nine defeats in 12 games through to late November.

Though things did improve before the Reds’ late season collapse, there were glaring problems with the team that remained unsolved throughout Slot’s final year.

Chief among them was a propensity to concede goals – 53 in the league, to be precise, which was more than anyone in the top half except Bournemouth (54).

Balls over the top often had their rearguard at sixes and sevens, as did deliveries into the box. Liverpool allowed significantly more open play crosses against them than in 2024/25 (11.87 vs 9.32 per 90) and conceded more shots from inside the area as well (7.53 vs 6.5 per 90).

Some of those issues can be put down to a focus on attack when it came to summer recruitment, but even the Merseysiders’ forward line isn’t without blame after they delivered the club’s lowest league goal tally in a decade (63).

That drop-off is particularly stark after a return of 86 goals the previous year, though Mohamed Salah’s unexpected and significant decline in form provides some degree of mitigation.

Nonetheless, Liverpool created 32 fewer big chances (80 vs 112) and 56 fewer shots on target (175 vs 231), both of which fell outside of the Premier League’s top three teams in 2025/26.

With problems at both ends of the pitch and confidence ebbing away after finishing the season without a win in four matches, it is perhaps unsurprising that the Reds’ board opted to change manager this summer.

Shades of Klopp

If, as expected, Iraola is named Liverpool’s next manager, there will be a sense of going back to a tried and tested approach at Anfield.

After all, there are plenty of parallels between the 43-year-old’s high-octane approach and that of Klopp – as reflected in Bournemouth’s numbers from last season.

The Cherries looked to win the ball back through intense pressing, making the second-highest number of interceptions in the league (366) and ranking in the top five for possession regains in all three thirds of the pitch.

They also placed fifth for PPDA (11.13), allowing opponents fewer passes per defensive action than Slot’s Liverpool (11.53) and even Manchester City (11.77).

When in possession, Iraola’s Bournemouth immediately targeted getting the ball into attacking areas, with just over 31% of their passes ending up in the final third and racking up a total of 53.18 attempted long passes per 90 – the fourth-most in the division.

That paid dividends, with impressive shot counts (13.79 per 90 with 4.66 on target) and a total of 58 goals, representing a commendable output for a club with modest resources.

So will Iraola be able to repeat the trick at Liverpool? Well, he’ll certainly benefit from having an entire pre-season to drill their squad in his methods, while working with a higher calibre of player offers plenty of potential.

But there are reasons to be cautious, too. Bournemouth conceded a relatively high number of goals (54) as a sacrifice to their attacking principles, but the Reds’ could do with a coach who can tighten up their leaky backline.

The former Spain international is also prone to long streaks without a win and it can take time for players to adapt to his approach.

That was evident from a run of nine league games without a win when he first arrived at the Vitality Stadium, as well as a similar 11-match streak midway through last season.

This may be avoided with greater resources at his disposal, of course, but it is far harder to ride out long baron periods at clubs with lofty expectations like Liverpool.

These are modest worries, though, compared with Iraola’s impressive body of work at both Rayo Vallecano and Bournemouth.

All things considered, there are plenty of reasons for optimism at Anfield next season, as Liverpool look to turn a corner under new management.