By Samuel Akpan
Liverpool has dramatically parted ways with manager Arne Slot just days after the Premier League season concluded, triggering an immediate managerial search that has Andoni Iraola as the overwhelming favourite to step into the Anfield dugout.
Football transfer guru Fabrizio Romano broke the bombshell on his X account on Saturday afternoon, declaring that the partnership between the Dutch coach and Liverpool is over with immediate effect following a thorough end-of-season review.
Romano identified the Spaniard as the clear frontrunner to become the next Reds boss.
The decision brings an abrupt end to Slot’s tenure after only two seasons at the club.
According to well-placed sources, former Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola has emerged as the standout candidate to replace him.
The 42-year-old, who successfully guided the Cherries to Europa League qualification this season, has already signalled his strong desire to take the job, with talks now advancing rapidly.
Stuttgart head coach Sebastian Hoeness and Lens manager Pierre Sage were also considered after both led their clubs into the Champions League.
However, Iraola remains the clear favourite to land the prestigious vacancy.
Slot’s first season in charge was widely praised as outstanding, but his second campaign proved far more difficult. Liverpool only managed to secure Champions League football on the final day of the season last weekend.
Expectations had been sky-high after the club invested heavily to challenge for the title.
Liverpool signed Alexander Isak from Newcastle, Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt, and Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for huge fees, while also bringing in Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, and Giovanni Leoni last summer in a record-breaking £446 million spending spree.
Despite the lavish recruitment drive, the Reds could only finish fifth in the table, ending a massive 25 points behind champions Arsenal.
Persecondnews reports that Iraola has transformed Bournemouth into one of the Premier League’s most dynamic and feared outfits through an aggressive, high-intensity tactical identity built on relentless pressing, rapid vertical transitions, and smart structural fluidity — a style that turned mid-table survivors into giant-killers and Europa League qualifiers.
The 43-year-old Basque coach typically deploys a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 base formation.
In possession, this frequently evolves into a more attacking 3-2-5 shape, with full-backs surging high and wide to create overloads on the flanks while a defensive midfielder drops between the centre-backs to form a back three.
This setup supports strong possession numbers and build-up play from the back, yet remains flexible — goalkeepers and centre-backs have licence to go long and direct when pressed, flipping the opposition’s high line to launch quick attacks into the final third.
Iraola’s teams love width and flank play, using overlapping full-backs and inverted or inside-moving wingers to stretch defences and create crossing or cut-back opportunities.
Attacks are purposefully direct and vertical: Bournemouth rank among the fastest in progressing the ball upfield, with few passes per attacking sequence, prioritising getting the ball forward quickly — often straight to the No.9 — after regains.
Midfielders are encouraged to dominate central areas and provide passing options, enabling damaging runs into the box.
Out of possession, Iraola’s signature is a high-energy hybrid press.
His side starts in a zonal structure to force the ball wide, then seamlessly triggers man-to-man pressure with split-second decision-making to swarm and smother opposition build-up high up the pitch.
This has made them elite at recovering the ball in attacking areas and converting those turnovers into shots.
The press is supported by athletic, intelligent players capable of high effort levels, with the team shifting between compact mid-blocks and aggressive counter-pressing depending on the situation.
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