In what has been a summer of change for Liverpool, Andoni Iraola has replaced Arne Slot at the helm at Anfield.
The Spaniard arrives with quite the reputation for playing free-flowing attacking football, as was the case during his three-year stint with Bournemouth.
Last season, he went unbeaten in the Premier League during the second half of the campaign, which is a massive achievement for a club of their stature.
Liverpool, on the other hand, endured one of their worst-ever seasons in recent history in terms of results and their brand of football, which eventually led to Slot’s dismissal.
It’s still early doors, but Kostas Tsimikas feels the Reds are already doing something differently under the Spaniard than was the case under Slot.
Tsimikas says Liverpool want to keep the ball under Iraola
Liverpool won the Premier League title under Slot during his first season at the club, but the fall-off since then was dramatic, to say the least.
Granted, they had their fair share of problems in terms of injuries, but the Dutchman’s brand of football was barely sustainable.
Liverpool were far too open in midfield and leaked goals for fun at the back, while they lacked cohesion in attack and never looked like a team that played on the high press.
And now, Tsimikas says those are some of the qualities he has already seen from Iraola’s philosophy, although it’s still early doors.
“We did some throw-ins, some build-ups and all these kinds of things; he likes the intensity in the training, everything is with the ball.
“I think he wants us to keep the ball, don’t lose the ball, and try to play good football.
“As I say, it’s very early; it is new for us, but I think all the players try to give absolutely everything to try to understand what exactly he wants and to do the right things on the pitch.”
Liverpool’s first pre-season game under their new boss is on the 25th of July when they take on Sunderland.
A handful of first-team stars who were at the 2026 FIFA World Cup are still missing, but expect Iraola to field a strong team with a nice blend of youth and experience as the Premier League season is exactly one month away from kicking off.
