Andoni Iraola sat down for coffee in a Chicago hotel and spelled it out clearly: "You have to improve the team." Two weeks into his first Liverpool pre-season tour, it's obvious just how much improving needs to happen — and how little time he has to do it.
The Reds open their Premier League campaign against Newcastle United in under a month. On current evidence, they'll do so with a patchwork defence, an unsettled squad and a transfer pursuit — Bradley Barcola — that hasn't crossed the finish line yet.
The defensive picture is genuinely alarming
Joe Gomez lasted eight minutes of Liverpool's first pre-season game before pulling up with a muscle injury. That set the tone. Captain Virgil van Dijk was still on holiday. New £60 million signing Jérémy Jacquet, brought in from Rennes, felt discomfort in training and didn't feature in any of the three tour games. Giovanni Leoni is still working his way back from an ACL. Ibrahima Konaté left for Real Madrid on a free. Conor Bradley is months away from returning after a serious knee injury suffered in January.
That left Liverpool's central defensive options in the US as Ifeanyi Ndukwe, Mor Talla Ndiaye, and Luke Chambers — three teenagers and a player who can't even get a work permit yet. They did reasonably well, but this isn't a depth chart that wins a Premier League title. Jeremie Frimpong had a decent outing against Leeds before being withdrawn as a precaution, but the Dutchman struggled with muscle injuries throughout last season and has plenty to prove. Anyone pricing Liverpool short for the title right now is working on faith, not evidence.
The results themselves — a 4-2 win over Sunderland, 1-0 against Wrexham, and a 4-2 defeat to Leeds — are almost beside the point. Pre-season scorelines rarely matter. Squad fitness does. Squad availability matters more.
The Curtis Jones situation, and who's stepping up
The most watchable moment of the tour had nothing to do with tactics. At Yankee Stadium, midfielder Curtis Jones visibly confronted Dominik Szoboszlai and Kostas Tsimikas on the pitch after the Hungary captain handed the armband to Tsimikas rather than Jones upon being substituted. Dressing room disputes happen constantly in elite football. They rarely play out in front of a stadium.
Jones is out of contract next summer, Inter Milan have reportedly reignited their interest, and this episode won't have quieted the speculation. Iraola said last month he wants to keep him. That may get complicated.
The brighter subplot is Trey Nyoni. The 19-year-old made just two starts last season — both in the Carabao Cup — and came off the bench 12 more times under Arne Slot. In the US, he started all three games and looked like someone who has genuinely used the summer well. "I knew I had a lot to improve so I've tried to work on it," he said after the Leeds game. Understated, but the performances backed it up.
Szoboszlai, meanwhile, is shaping up as vice-captain material following Andy Robertson's move to Tottenham, with sources pointing to his leadership during the tour as the deciding factor. He signed a new five-year deal last month. Liverpool's midfield leadership isn't a problem — it's one of the few areas that isn't.
The Barcola chase and what Liverpool's attack actually needs
Mohamed Salah is gone. Hugo Ekitike won't be back until at least early 2027 after his April Achilles injury. The right wing, which became a recurring headache under Slot, has no obvious answer at the moment. Iraola played 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha there against Wrexham, which tells you something about the current options.
The Barcola pursuit is serious. Sources told ESPN that Liverpool were preparing their first official bid last week, targeting a fee around €115 million — below PSG's €150 million valuation. The France winger wants the move. The gap between the clubs is the obstacle.
Víctor Muñoz, signed from Osasuna for €40 million after winning the World Cup with Spain, will join up when the squad returns to Merseyside. Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz — the latter scoring a well-taken goal against Leeds — both joined the tour in its second week and will get more minutes in upcoming friendlies against Monaco and Como at Anfield. There is real quality in this attack when everyone is fit and settled.
The futures of Federico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott remain unresolved. Elliott had a "mentally tough" loan spell at Aston Villa last season, barely played, and needs a clean slate somewhere. Both men spoke on tour about fresh starts under Iraola. Whether those fresh starts are at Liverpool or elsewhere is still open.
Off the pitch, Michael Edwards has left FSG, sporting director Richard Hughes is being linked with Al Hilal, and a consortium led by businessman Amit Bhatia has expressed interest in buying a minority stake in the club. A lot is moving at once. Iraola's job description just keeps expanding.
"If you see footage of how we all are after training, all lying down, then you can see what he is preparing us for," said Milos Kerkez, who spent two seasons under Iraola at Bournemouth before joining Liverpool. The intensity is there. The squad depth, for now, isn't.
