Liverpool's Rebuild: Seven Signings Needed Under Andoni Iraola

Liverpool face what looks like a full-scale rebuild under Andoni Iraola, with the new head coach warned he may need as many as seven signings to drag the squad back to title-challenging level.

The former Bournemouth boss has signed a two-year deal to replace Arne Slot and walks into a club still reeling from a limp defence of their 20th Premier League crown. The departures of Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson have already ripped out two pillars of recent success. More could follow.

A squad creaking all over the pitch

Liverpool’s problems are not confined to one area. They are spread right through the spine.

Football Insider report that senior figures around the club believe “six or seven positions” need new blood, with one source insisting Iraola is “going to face some major issues immediately”.

The first concern is in goal. Alisson Becker, long regarded as one of the best keepers in the world, “could be the next big name to go” after Salah and Robertson. Liverpool chiefs have already blocked a move to Juventus, but the Brazilian is due for talks with the Anfield hierarchy over his future. If he pushes to leave, that’s a cornerstone gone.

In defence, the situation is no calmer. Robertson is on his way out. Ibrahima Konaté is also described as “going”, and Virgil van Dijk, the defensive colossus of the Klopp era, is now 34 and edging towards the final stretch of his peak. On top of that, the club are understood to be targeting a new right-back, with that position also flagged as an area in need of an upgrade.

Look at it line by line and the gaps start to stack up.

Salah gone, Ekitike injured, and a frontline to rebuild

Higher up the pitch, the problems sharpen.

Salah has already left, taking with him goals, assists and the aura that terrified defences for seven seasons. Hugo Ekitike, viewed as part of the next attacking wave, is out until next year with injury. That’s two attacking pieces removed before Iraola has even led a training session.

Liverpool are expected to move aggressively for wide players. One name firmly on their radar is RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande, who has been touted as a leading candidate to replace Salah. A swap deal involving an underperforming Liverpool player has been floated as a way to make that move happen, underlining how creative the club may have to be in the market.

The feeling inside the game is that Liverpool don’t just need one winger; they probably need two. And that’s before you get to the planned upgrades at right-back, centre-back and central midfield.

Seven signings or bust?

This is the scale of the task Iraola has walked into. According to Football Insider’s source, he has already assessed the squad and “will know there are problems there”.

“I would say there are probably six or seven positions with players already in need of replacing,” the source said, before reeling off the list: a potentially departing Alisson, the exits of Robertson and Konaté, an ageing Van Dijk, the need for a right-back, Salah’s departure and Ekitike’s long-term injury.

“Already, that’s multiple key positions that need dealing with, and the manager will know that better than anybody, he will be prepared. It’s now about whether he will get that backing, and I expect he will, to make the changes that need to be made.”

That’s the crux. The club hierarchy hired Iraola for his aggressive, front-foot football and his capacity to maximise squads on a budget. But this is Liverpool. The expectation is not simply to compete; it is to win.

The goal, as the same source underlined, is brutally simple: “Ultimately, the goal for Iraola at Liverpool is going to be to make them successful again, but to do that, he’s going to need a lot of support.”

Seven signings. Big names possibly walking out. A fanbase that demands a response, not a transition year. Iraola hasn’t even taken charge of a competitive game yet, and already the transfer window looks like the first defining test of his Anfield reign.