Jurgen Klopp has already explained why Andoni Iraola would transform Alexander Isak at Liverpool
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Talk around Andoni Iraola becoming the next Liverpool manager has started to ramp up in the last day or so, and that’s great news for Alexander Isak.Isak has struggled in 2025/26, missing pre-season and being hit with a number of injury issues that have made it very hard for him to find form.Aside from the lack of match sharpness, when the Swede does start, Arne Slot has often used him in a wider role and failed to set the team up to play to his strengths. But Jurgen Klopp has already explained how good Iraola is at doing that with a striker, which is great news for Liverpool’s record addition.
Is Andoni Iraola the right man to replace Arne Slot this summer? 🤔 Credit: Robin Jones/AFC Bournemouth/Getty Images Dominik Solanke’s Bournemouth success can be replicated with Alexander IsakThe Spaniard arrived at the Vitality Stadium in 2023 when Klopp was still in the Anfield dugout.And speaking in the first season after he took the Bournemouth job, the ex-Liverpool coach praised Iraola for his use of then-Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke, highlighting how the number nine was given support from all areas of the pitch.Klopp said: “I didn’t know a lot about him [Iraola]. The start of the season, obviously the results, if you don’t take a proper look at Bournemouth it can happen.“But they turned it around, wow.
They have a really good mix, they play football, they find direction in the right moments, they use Dom Solanke in a sensational way.“The support he gets from the centre, from the wings. The way they defend, really good, really compact.”At present, when he is fit, Isak gets very little support from Liverpool’s wingers or even through the middle.It has left the former Newcastle United man isolated and often seeing his dangerous runs ignored.But if Iraola becomes Liverpool manager, that will surely change next term, just like it did with Solanke at Bournemouth.The Englishman ended 2023/24 with 19 Premier League goals to his name, his most in a top-flight season, before then earning a big move to Spurs, where his form has since declined.Salah, who is more of a goal-scoring forward than a natural winger, leaving will also help Liverpool’s strikers.However, it is clear that Slot is unable to currently set the team up around Isak properly, which will need to change if the Reds are to get the best out of the British record signing.Join Our NewsletterReceive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox