​Andoni Iraola has arrived and wasted no time, stepping straight onto the training pitch after officially taking charge at Liverpool. The new head coach began work at the AXA Training Centre with the first phase of pre-season already underway as Liverpool prep for the 2026/27 campaign. It’s early days, the squad is compact, and no one sensible should overreact, but first impressions carry weight when a club pivots as sharply as Liverpool has this summer.
Iraola has succeeded Arne Slot following a disappointing 2025/26 season that culminated in his departure. The immediate aim is straightforward: get the players fit, assess those returning from injury or loan, and establish a clear set of standards. BBC Sport reported that the initial session pulled together players coming back from injuries and stints away on loan, alongside members of Iraola’s newly assembled coaching team. The Liverpool Echo highlighted Jeremy Jacquet as the standout name, with the club’s new centre-back back on the grass after shoulder surgery cut last season short his time at Rennes. Harvey Elliott also returned from his Aston Villa loan, and James McConnell and Stefan Bajcetic took part as well. For Bajcetic, this marks a significant moment, more than two years after his last appearance for the first team.
Elsewhere, Hugo Ekitike, Wataru Endo, Conor Bradley, and Giovanni Leoni continue rehabilitation programmes. Ekitike is targeting a Boxing Day return following Achilles surgery, Endo is rebuilding from the ankle injury that kept him out of Japan’s World Cup squad, and Liverpool remain hopeful Leoni can contribute in pre-season as he recovers from an ACL injury. Bradley’s knee surgery recovery timeline remains less certain, with no definitive return date yet.
This is where things start to feel a little more decisive. One of Iraola’s early priorities is reportedly to gauge whether Jacquet or Leoni can develop quickly enough to form a regular partnership with Virgil van Dijk. Liverpool obviously rate both players, but excelling in potential during youth and trusting them to deliver in August on the Premier League stage are two markedly different challenges. The outcome of this decision could reveal a lot about how aggressively Liverpool intend to operate in the market and how much authority Iraola has to reshape the defence immediately.
Most of the squad are scheduled to return on 14 July, while those who participated in the World Cup will have three weeks off following their early elimination. Iraola’s first press conference is booked for Chicago on 21 July, with Liverpool kicking off their pre-season fixtures against Sunderland in Nashville on 25 July. Wrexham and Leeds United await in the United States, ahead of friendlies at Anfield against AS Monaco and Como 1907 to wrap up preparations.
For now, the emphasis is squarely on groundwork: a new coach, recovering players, and young defenders under scrutiny. Nothing is settled, but Liverpool have begun moving. The most intriguing thread remains the centre-back situation: if Jacquet or Leoni can genuinely press for a regular role alongside Van Dijk, the summer’s dynamic could shift in meaningful ways and set the tone for Iraola’s broader plan to reshape the squad.