Andoni Iraola defends Liverpool opting against throwing ‘crazy money’ at short-term fixes

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Liverpool’s outlay did not include a right-back, defensive midfielder or right-winger but Iraola, who believes Barcola could be deployed in Mohamed Salah’s old position on the right, insisted he had no qualms with the squad at his disposal.“I’m very happy with all the signings we’ve made,” said the Liverpool head coach. “I know the next question: ‘Do you want more signings in other positions?’ At the end the club has decided those signings we have done are the ones that improved our team and our position.“There were other options we decided not to take, for different reasons: sometimes it is sporting reasons because they don’t improve what you have, sometimes it is economical reasons as it didn’t make sense in terms of the market to do those movements.

There is no date on Bradley’s and Ekitiké’s return from serious knee and achilles injuries respectively, but Iraola said the club had to plan for the long term and wait for all three to recover.Iraola said: “The club has decided not to sign someone because we need them for these two or three months and instead trust the players we have, us working with the players we have and thinking of the long term.“Yes, as a manager you need the players for today but if they [the club] explain to you the vision and the long-term project, you also have to understand the club. Sometimes it’s better to look a little bit further than the next game and the next month.”Despite the absence of a natural right-winger – Liverpool explored deals for Yankuba Minteh at Brighton and Ismaïla Sarr at Crystal Palace – Iraola is confident Barcola, Victor Muñoz, Cody Gakpo and Rio Ngumoha will provide sufficient cover.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionHe said: “I think we’ve preferred at the end to have the best players, probably, than a player that maybe is specifically for that [right-sided] position.

Probably Rio is more specific from the left side, but I think he has also showed the willingness to improve and play on the right. Even Bradley, he’s very open and I think he can play right and left.