LIVERPOOL have appointed former Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola as their head coach.
The Spaniard has signed a a two-year contract with the Reds to replace the sacked Arne Slot.
Liverpool announced Slot’s sacking on Saturday, a year after the Dutchman guided them to the English Premier League title, and have moved swiftly to bring in a successor.
Iraola, 43, joins after delivering the Cherries’ best-ever top-flight season, finishing in sixth place.
That was only one position and three points behind Liverpool and gave Bournemouth a place in next season’s UEFA Europa League.
Iraola announced in April that he would leave Bournemouth this summer and he had been linked with Crystal Palace and AC Milan.
Now he moves to Merseyside, with Liverpool having qualified for next season’s UEFA Champions League despite finishing the Premier League season with 60 points – their lowest tally since 2015-2016 and a distant 25 points behind winners Arsenal.
“Really excited, really excited,” said Iraola. “Because obviously you know about Liverpool, you know that it’s a big club, a massive club, one of the biggest in the world.
“You don’t need a lot of things to get attracted by Liverpool. Liverpool is Liverpool.”
He added: “I think Liverpool gives me the chance to coach top players, and top players give you the chance to fight for titles. To win titles.
“Obviously when you arrive at a place, you cannot promise everything. You cannot promise. But it’s true that I understand where I’m coming and what is expected.
“I’m ready for the challenge.”
Iraola is understood to be keen to bring Tommy Elphick and Shaun Cooper, his assistants at Bournemouth, to Anfield as part of his coaching staff.
Iraola used to play football on the beach as a child with Mikel Arteta and Xabi Alonso. Now all three will be Premier League managers next season.
For a while, Iraola did not think he would make football his profession, and he was three years into a law degree when he gave it up to commit to the demands of playing at full-back for Athletic Club.
After coaching in Cyprus and taking recent UEFA Conference League finalists Rayo Vallecano back into the Spanish top flight, he arrived in England with a relatively low profile but soon made his name by making Bournemouth a Premier League force.
