Honest Klopp quote on Iraola shows Liverpool star’s career is about to explode
A prior quote from Jurgen Klopp has resurfaced in which the German spoke ultra-highly of incoming Liverpool boss, Andoni Iraola, and his assessment also suggests Alexander Isak’s Anfield career is about to explode.
Iraola has said yes to succeeding Arne Slot and being named the next Liverpool manager. Discussions between the two parties are underway and rapidly advancing. There is very little scope for this one to fall through, with Fabrizio Romano already declaring Iraola will become Liverpool’s next boss.
One of the reasons Reds owners FSG have chosen Iraola is the style of play he’ll implement.
Iraola’s brand of front-foot, aggressive football that places greater emphasis on overwhelming teams rather than boring them to death with endless sideways passes is keenly appreciated.
The Spaniard’s tactical approach bares a close resemblance to that of Klopp’s and is in stark contrast to the one deployed by former boss Slot.
One of Slot’s many failings in his second season at Anfield was getting virtually nothing out of Alexander Isak.
While it’s true to say the £125m record signing did spend a large chunk of the season injured, when he did play, he barely got a touch of the ball.
Whether that’s Isak’s fault for not doing enough with his movement, or his teammates’ fault for not having the vision to find him, or Slot’s fault for failing to remedy any of this, is immaterial now.
But an old quote from Klopp in January of 2024 prior to Liverpool facing Iraola’s Bournemouth at that time suggests Isak’s Anfield career is about to ignite.
Jurgen Klopp assessment on Andoni Iraola from 2024
After Bournemouth endured a difficult start to the campaign which Iraola inevitable turned around, Klopp said (as relayed by ThisIsAnfield): “I really have time to admire what [Iraola’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.
“I didn’t know a lot about him, about the colleague. At the start of the season the results went [bad] which, 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, and he found a way to set this team up and they have a really good mix.
“They play football, they find direction in the right moments, they use Dominic Solanke in a sensational way: the support he gets from the centre, from the wings.
“The way they defend, really good, really compact. So that’s proper.”
Iraola arrival good news for Alexander Isak
Solanke played centre forward in Iraola’s first season with the Cherries, and bagged 19 Premier League goals that campaign.
In Iraola’s last season with Bournemouth, wildly impressive forward, Eli Junior Kroupi, spent half of the campaign in the striker spot. Kroupi scored 13 times in just 21 league starts.
Part of the reason Liverpool spent so heavily on Isak and to a lesser extent Hugo Ekitike was the club’s desire to make the striker the focal point of their attack once Mohamed Salah left.
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And with Ekitike sidelined for the long haul after rupturing his Achilles tendon, the goalscoring burden for much of Iraola’s first season at Anfield will be on Isak’s shoulders.
If Iraola’s track record with strikers at Bournemouth is anything to go by, Isak might be wise bet for the Premier League golden boot next season, assuming he can stay fit, of course.
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