Jurgen Klopp has made Andoni Iraola feelings clear as Liverpool star could get exciting boost
Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from Echo or go back to LFC Live.
Ex-Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has been effusive in his praise of Andoni Iraola in the pastAs Andoni Iraola edges closer to becoming Liverpool's new boss, one man who will be impressed with the likely appointment will be Jurgen Klopp.Spanish boss Iraola has been in formal talks with the Reds over replacing Arne Slot following the sacking of the Dutchman on Saturday, and the former Bournemouth man is now widely expected to become Liverpool's 22nd full-time boss.And Klopp, the 20th, is a big fan of the Basque if his quotes from January 2024 are anything to go by.The German faced Iraola's Bournemouth three times in the 2023-24 season, Iraola's first in English football and Klopp's final one at Anfield.And shortly before a trip to the south coast which occurred a week prior to Klopp's shock announcement that he was leaving, the Reds boss praised Iraola for the way he had turned around Bournemouth's fortunes following a run of just one win in his first 11 Premier League games.When asked if he had been impressed by what Iraola had done with the Cherries, who had just won seven of their previous nine matches - a run which included a 3-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford - Klopp said: "Yeah good, and it's just kind of... when you don't play them in the weekend I really have time to admire that what he's doing there."So it was obviously a really difficult start for him at Bournemouth with the manager change and all these kind of things. At the start of this season with the results, if you don't have a proper look at Bournemouth it can happen.
But they turned it around, wow."That's real coaching, I have to say. He found a way to set this team up and they have a really good mix.
They use Dom Solanke in a sensational way, the support he gets from the centre, from the wings, the way they defend, they're really good, really compact, so that's proper."That mention of Solanke, who spent one season under Klopp at Liverpool in 2017-18, could well be music to the ears of Alexander Isak after his issues during his first season at Anfield.Whereas Slot's Liverpool sides would often struggle to get consistent goals and performances from their No.9s, Iraola's Bournemouth have largely been the opposite.Solanke scored 21 goals - and 19 in the Premier League - for Iraola's side in that 2023-24 season, with that form earning him a £55m move to Tottenham.Since then the Brazilian forward Evanilson has taken on the No.9 shirt at the club, with the former Porto man scoring 12 goals in his first season before managing just six in the most recent campaign, a tally that was offset by the impressive displays of 19-year-old French under-21 talent Eli Junior Kroupi, who managed an impressive 13 goals in his first Premier League season.Isak, who scored four goals in his maiden Reds campaign, will be eyeing a bigger impact next season once he returns from the World Cup.The Sweden international scored a fine goal in his side's 3-1 friendly defeat to Norway on Monday night in preparation for the tournament.FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE! All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook page