Iraola’s First Steps: Liverpool's New Era Begins in Nashville

In the heat of a Nashville evening, Liverpool begin to find out what they are under Andoni Iraola.

Sunderland provide the opposition at Geodis Park on Saturday, a 30,000-seat stadium that, for now, still feels more like the home of Nashville SC than the launchpad for a new Liverpool regime. There are tickets left, plenty of them. The fanfare is muted. The significance is not.

This is the first glimpse of life after Arne Slot, and Iraola knows there is no grace period at Anfield, no soft landing for a new head coach.

“For me, now, it is about creating a very good team to beat, a very difficult team to beat,” he has said. “The team that I envision now… if we become that team, I think we are going to be successful.”

He understands the job description in its simplest form.

“The most important thing that we can deliver is our performances. It doesn't matter if I speak well, if I don't speak well… At the end people just want to see the team play well and deliver good results. I know this is 90% of my job.”

Pre-season is usually about fitness and rhythm. For Liverpool this summer, it is also about identity.

A New Voice, Familiar Demands

The Premier League will judge Iraola on results. These three games in the United States – Sunderland in Nashville, Wrexham in New York, Leeds in Chicago – will be judged on something less tangible but just as important: how Liverpool look, how they feel.

Ian Rush has seen enough managers come and go to understand what will resonate.

“It's a big step up from Bournemouth but he deserves it,” Rush tells BBC Sport. “He's got all the credentials to be a top Liverpool manager and I'm pretty certain he could be.”

Then comes the key line, the one that will echo around Anfield if Iraola gets this right.

“His style of football fits with Liverpool. It will help with the supporters too. Perhaps with Slot, they were a bit more defensive but supporters want to get behind the team. They'll only get behind a team if you're attacking or high pressing.”

The atmosphere, Rush points out, drifted at times last season. Anfield does not respond to caution. It responds to aggression, intensity, risk.

“This is Liverpool and we want to play a high pressing game and we'll know in the next few days what that looks like,” he says.

Nashville might be a long way from the Kop, but Iraola’s blueprint has to travel.

A Night of Tribute and Transition

Before a ball is kicked, there will be a pause.

The death of Kevin Keegan earlier this week has cut across both clubs. A legend for Liverpool, a hero for Sunderland, a figure who bridged eras and fanbases. Players from both sides will wear black armbands. The stadium will rise for a minute’s applause.

It will be a reminder of the standards that built Liverpool, and of the expectation that never really fades.

Then the focus swings back to the pitch and to a Liverpool squad that is both bloated and incomplete.

A Big Squad, Big Gaps

Liverpool have taken 32 players to the United States. Not all of them are ready to play. Some are there to continue rehabilitation in a livelier environment than an empty training ground back home.

The World Cup has carved a chunk out of Iraola’s early plans. Key names are missing, with Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Ryan Gravenberch due to join in the second week of the camp. Alexis Mac Allister and Victor Munoz will arrive even later. Cody Gakpo, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson have not travelled at all.

Inside the camp, the mood has been described as fresh, young, energetic. That suits Iraola. It also suits the players who have had time to rest.

“Szoboszlai and Kerkez haven't been to the World Cup and I can tell you this from experience because I never went to the World Cup,” Rush says. “Those players have had a long rest and they'll be desperate to get back into it.”

Harvey Elliott is back. Stefan Bajcetic, who has not played for the club in 2024, has rejoined full training. Those are important steps, but they do not disguise the obvious: this squad still needs work.

Iraola wants to assess everyone. He also knows that assessment alone will not be enough.

Life After Salah

Liverpool knew in March, if not earlier, that Mohamed Salah was leaving. He has not been replaced.

That is the most glaring issue facing Iraola and the recruitment team. Liverpool want a winger. Bradley Barcola is viewed as the most likely option, but until a deal is done, the right flank remains a question mark.

Into that space steps 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha.

He has been training across both flanks, comfortable on the right as well as his preferred left. His talent is not in doubt. His readiness to carry Salah’s burden is another matter.

“He's still young but as the manager has said, we need someone to replace Salah and that won't be easy at all,” Rush says. He points to Isak as another who must step up.

“We've got Isak, who played well in the World Cup, and I hope he comes back as a new player and looking to prove a thing or two after last season.”

The pressure on the transfer market is obvious. The pressure on the club’s young forwards is building too.

The Kids in America

If there is a silver lining to absences and delays, it is opportunity.

Over the next week, supporters can expect to see more of Kieran Morrison, 19, who made his debut last season. Will Wright, 18, and Josh Sonni-Lambie, also 18, are in the mix. All of them have a chance to catch Iraola’s eye in real minutes, not just training drills.

Then there is Josh Abe.

At 16, he is already spoken about as one of the hottest young prospects in English football. These are the kinds of tours that quietly launch careers. A sharp cameo, a fearless run at a full-back, a moment of quality that lingers in a manager’s mind.

In Nashville, in New York, in Chicago, those snapshots will matter.

A New Tune in Music City

For now, the city barely seems to notice Liverpool’s arrival. No streets lined with red shirts, no sense of a travelling circus. It feels low-key.

Inside the camp, it cannot be.

Here in the Music City, Iraola’s job is to get Liverpool singing from the same hymn sheet, to take that “very difficult team to beat” from idea to reality. The high press Rush talks about has to be more than a slogan. It has to be visible. It has to be relentless.

The Premier League will not wait. The transfer window will not slow down. The Salah question will not answer itself.

So the first notes of the Iraola era will be played out against Sunderland, under the Tennessee sun, with a squad that is not yet complete and a fanbase watching from afar.

What they see in these next few days will tell them whether this is a gentle remix of Liverpool – or the start of something far bolder.