FSG’s Liverpool Gamble Places Huge Pressure on Andoni Iraola

Liverpool Transfer Strategy Leaves Andoni Iraola Facing Major FSG Test

Liverpool have placed considerable faith in Andoni Iraola’s ability to improve the squad he inherited, but there is an increasingly persuasive argument that their new head coach requires more assistance from the transfer market.

Paul Joyce of The Times reports that Liverpool’s hierarchy remain confident Iraola can unlock untapped potential within a group that badly underperformed last season. That belief appears to be influencing Fenway Sports Group’s approach as the Premier League campaign approaches.

Liverpool have adopted similar positions before and been vindicated. Yet the circumstances Iraola has inherited are considerably less comfortable.

As Joyce puts it:

“Minor tweaks do not feel like a sensible option now, however.”

Liverpool finished fifth last season, lost almost a third of their Premier League matches and struggled with fundamental aspects of their performances. The deterioration ultimately resulted in Arne Slot losing his job on May 30.

Iraola has therefore inherited a significant rebuilding job.

Joyce’s assessment feels appropriate:

“The breadth of work the Basque must undertake feels vast.”

Liverpool Transfer Business Leaves Major Questions

Liverpool have previously benefited from resisting calls to make unnecessary signings.

Adrián and the 16-year-old Harvey Elliott arrived during the summer of 2019, while Federico Chiesa was the only senior addition in 2024. Liverpool subsequently won the Premier League following both transfer windows.

Continuity made sense in 2019. Jürgen Klopp had constructed an exceptional squad that had just won the Champions League and was approaching its peak.

Slot also benefited from continuity when he arrived in 2024, winning the Premier League during his first campaign.

Liverpool’s position in 2026 feels considerably different.

Victor Muñoz and Jérémy Jacquet are the two headline additions so far this summer, while Liverpool’s attempts to strengthen their attacking options have proven complicated.

A €100million package was offered for Yan Diomandé, consisting of €80million guaranteed and €20million in add-ons. RB Leipzig wanted closer to €130million and the winger eventually joined Real Madrid for €125million plus another €15million in add-ons.

Liverpool subsequently turned their attention towards Bradley Barcola.

Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly valued Barcola at somewhere between €150million and €170million. Liverpool consider that valuation too high, while interest also exists in Barcola’s 18-year-old PSG team-mate Ibrahim Mbaye.

Finding another winger has become particularly important following Mohamed Salah’s departure for Trabzonspor.

FSG Spending Faces Increasing Scrutiny

Liverpool’s situation cannot reasonably be reduced to FSG refusing to spend money.

Joyce reports that expenditure since May 2025 potentially stands at £550million, with approximately £225million recouped through sales.

Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Milos Kerkez represented enormous investment last summer. Liverpool believe those players remain among the best talents available and expect considerable improvement during Iraola’s first season.

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Yet Joyce makes an important observation about the overall construction of the squad:

“That feels remarkable and brings scrutiny on how that money has been apportioned.”

That may prove to be the defining issue.

Liverpool could conceivably have spent another £100million on Barcola and still entered the campaign with legitimate questions surrounding their defensive depth.

Iraola has been recruited partly because Liverpool believe his coaching can provide improvement.

During the club’s United States tour, the former Bournemouth head coach explained the importance of establishing a reliable tactical foundation.

“We have to have a system that gives us a floor,” he said. “So even if we don’t play incredibly well, we are not having our best day as football players, there is a system behind us that will give us a high floor.

“Let’s raise our floor and when we are playing amazingly, it looks incredible. After that, you have to trust your players and, in this case, it is easy because I have very good players.”

Liverpool desperately need that floor raised after last season.

Defensive Problems Could Expose Liverpool

Perhaps the most concerning element of Liverpool’s current squad is defence.

Iraola has 24 first-team players, although Ekitike, Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni and Jacquet are returning at different stages from long-term injuries.

Joe Gomez will miss the beginning of the campaign with another muscle problem.

That leaves Virgil van Dijk, now 35, as the only centre-back Iraola can presently depend upon.

Liverpool have invested substantially in Jacquet and Leoni, players they believe are among Europe’s most promising young central defenders. Neither, however, has played Premier League or Champions League football.

There is important context surrounding Jacquet’s arrival too. Liverpool agreed that deal while expecting Ibrahima Konaté to remain at Anfield. Contract negotiations subsequently collapsed and Konaté left on a free transfer.

Bradley’s injury has been known since January, while Gomez’s recurring fitness problems are hardly a new development. Joyce reports that Liverpool are likely to seek one player capable of providing cover at both centre-back and right-back.

The clock is ticking.

Joyce’s warning regarding Liverpool’s strategy is particularly striking:

“if Iraola does not manage to manoeuvre Liverpool into a position where they can be competing for major honours, then FSG’s stance (and Edwards’s departing insistence that the club is in a strong position) will have been left horribly exposed.”

Therein lies the gamble Liverpool are taking.

Iraola was recruited because of his ability to improve footballers, organise teams and create a coherent tactical identity.

As Joyce concludes:

“Iraola was recruited as someone who can improve players. That is all well and good, but a few more to work with will greatly help his cause.”

Our View – Anfield Index Analysis

From a Liverpool supporter’s perspective, this report should generate both excitement about Iraola and genuine concern about the responsibility being placed upon him.

There is serious quality within this squad.

Isak and Wirtz should become cornerstone players. Ekitike has enormous potential, while Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Kerkez and Gakpo are all capable of producing considerably more than they managed last season.

Iraola’s coaching could make an enormous difference.

His comments about establishing a tactical “floor” are particularly interesting because Liverpool’s worst performances last season lacked exactly that. Too often the team looked vulnerable once matches became chaotic.

Yet coaching cannot solve everything.

Van Dijk effectively being the only dependable centre-back approaching the beginning of the season should concern everybody. He is still an outstanding defender, but he is 35 and cannot reasonably be expected to hold the entire structure together.

Liverpool knew Bradley had suffered a serious injury in January. They knew Gomez had persistent fitness problems. They also knew Konaté’s contract situation represented a major risk.

That makes another defensive addition feel essential rather than desirable.

Barcola would be hugely exciting, particularly after Salah’s departure, and Mbaye could represent another outstanding investment in Liverpool’s future. However, there needs to be balance across the squad.

FSG have spent substantial money. The question is no longer simply whether Liverpool spend enough. It is whether that investment has produced a squad capable of challenging across every competition.

Iraola deserves the chance to demonstrate why Liverpool wanted him.

Improving players should become an advantage Liverpool exploit, rather than an excuse for leaving obvious gaps unresolved.

If Liverpool add a top winger and a versatile defender before the window closes, the complexion of this squad changes considerably.

If they do not, Iraola could find himself carrying responsibility for problems that good coaching alone cannot solve.