Iraola Addresses Liverpool's Winger Shortage Ahead of Premier League Season

Andoni Iraola knows exactly what is missing.

Liverpool’s new head coach looked at his squad on the eve of the Premier League season and didn’t bother dressing it up: he doesn’t have enough wingers. Not yet.

Iraola short on wingers – and patience with the window

Liverpool have already seen a £50m offer for Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh knocked back this week and have sounded out Paris St-Germain over Ibrahim Mbaye. PSG’s Bradley Barcola remains the primary target as the club hunt for a wide forward capable of walking straight into the starting XI.

“As a manager, this is an easy one for me. I wanted the players for the first day on 13 July – everyone here and all the positions doubled with top-level players,” Iraola said when pressed on the club’s transfer work.

That ideal summer never came. The market stayed open, the games arrived, and Iraola is now trying to launch a season while key pieces are still missing.

“You understand how the competition works, that (the) market is open and you start the competition. We have to adapt as coaches to this situation.

“I hate these two weeks or these 10 days that we have because there is a lot of uncertainty – but not in Liverpool, everywhere. But we have to adapt.”

The message was clear: he’ll live with it, but he doesn’t have to like it.

Big arrivals, big departures

Since Iraola replaced Arne Slot, Liverpool have not exactly been quiet. Victor Munoz has arrived for £34.5m, Ronald Araujo has come in on loan from Barcelona, and Jeremy Jacquet’s £60m switch from Rennes – agreed back in January – has finally gone through.

The spine has been reinforced. The flanks have not.

And that matters even more after a ruthless summer of exits. Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate have all left the club, stripping experience and star quality from a dressing room that had grown used to leaning on them. Curtis Jones is in Italy to complete a £30m move to Inter Milan, another homegrown presence preparing to walk away.

So when Iraola is asked what he still needs, he doesn’t hesitate.

“There are certain situations that for me are clear – especially now on the wing because we don't have enough players specific to play in those positions.

“And then in other positions, I think we have to be open-minded in the market to see situations that honestly can improve our team.

“It's not about signing because we need a player here. No, it's about improving the squad. And we have very good players already here, so to improve our very good players, you need like a specific level of player, yes.”

The bar is high. The squad is thin. That combination tends to make for a frantic end to August.

“We will definitely sign some players”

Speaking to Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports, Iraola didn’t bother with coyness. Liverpool will move.

“We will definitely sign some players. Some deals you have to wait until the end. But the end is the important picture, the one we will have on September 1. Because it is true that we are still quite thin.”

It is not the first time he has sounded that warning. During Liverpool’s pre-season tour in the USA, Iraola voiced similar concerns about defensive depth. Inside Anfield, the expectation matches his tone: this window will go right to the wire, and it will be busy.

Curtis Jones: admiration and inevitability

Amid the chase for new faces, one departure in particular has carried a different emotional weight. Curtis Jones, the academy product who grew up at Liverpool, is edging towards Inter Milan.

“With Curtis, you know. I think it's still not official but there is an ongoing situation,” Iraola said. “I understood with Curtis. I talked to him. I think in the first or second training session we talked.

“I value him a lot as a player. He loved this club – it was very clear since the beginning for me – but I understood that probably the outcome was going to be what it has been at the end.

“I've never hid it - for me Curtis is a very good player. A very, very good player, but I understood straight away when he talked to me about his situation. It was a situation that could happen and it looks like it is going to happen.”

Admiration on one side, ambition on the other. For Iraola, it underlines the scale of the rebuild. For Liverpool, it sharpens the urgency.

The season has already started to move. The transfer window hasn’t finished with them yet.