1. Iraola ‘very confident’ in his Liverpool squad
Andoni Iraola believes it would be a mistake to underestimate Liverpool this season given the talent at his disposal and the likelihood of more to come before the transfer deadline.
Liverpool were widely considered favourites to retain the Premier League title 12 months ago only for Arne Slot to lose his job after a fifth-placed finish on the back of a dour campaign. That regression, coupled with the continued search for two wide forwards this summer, has raised questions over Liverpool’s potential in Iraola’s debut season at Anfield.
The new head coach has declined to set targets but insists the quality that exists within the Liverpool squad has fuelled his confidence for what lies ahead. That belief will increase should the club’s pursuit of Bradley Barcola, his Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Ibrahim Mbaye, Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh or other wingers on their shortlist come to fruition. Liverpool have seen their latest bid for the Gambian star – a £60m offer – rejected by the Seagulls.
Iraola, who has appointed Dominik Szoboszlai as one of Liverpool’s vice-captains, said: “Yes [it would be a mistake to underestimate his team]. I can feel that a little bit because of the questions I’m asked. We have to value the good players we have in this building. Sometimes the players are here for three, four, five seasons and we are not aware how good some of our players are. I know this is the situation.
“The market is not closed, we still have time to add more players, and probably I have the advantage that I am coming in new and I value a lot of the players I have here that are new to me. I can tell you that I am very confident in terms of the quality of the players we have.
“A bit of this negativity is probably about the fact we have a tricky situation with long-term injuries. We have some very good players who had big surgeries and if we had those players available then it probably puts your squad in a much better place. We have to go through this period until they are fully fit. We knew the impact it would have from the beginning and I hope we can deal with this period.”
One player with huge room for improvement on last season is Alexander Isak, who faces a hostile reception when he returns to Newcastle on Sunday for the first time since his acrimonious departure last summer. “It is a massive season for Alexander,” Iraola said. “He knows at the end it is [about] two things: the first is availability, and without availability we cannot have the second thing which is the performance level. I have no doubts about his level.
“I think he’s quite a unique No 9 in terms of he can come to receive and be technically very clean, and he can also be very good attacking the space. Sometimes you get one thing or the other, like a player who comes to link up play and sets the others, or a player who is just quick and attacks the spaces, but he can do both. Also, my biggest fight [in pre-season] has been about our press, how to position, how to help the players that he has behind, and he is willing to do it and to understand. He has improved with every friendly we’ve played.”
Curtis Jones has completed his move to Inter Milan. The deal is worth €30m plus €5m in add-ons with a 10% sell-on fee. Andy Hunter
2. Emery accepts Watkins may join Villa exodus
Unai Emery has claimed Aston Villa are paying the “consequences” for unprecedented success after conceding Ollie Watkins could join the summer exodus, despite the club rejecting another bid for him from Al-Hilal.
Villa have offered Watkins a new contract but the Saudi Pro League club, whose latest bid was worth about £45m, are pushing to sign the England striker. Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson, who played under Emery at Villarreal, is a priority target if Watkins departs. Emery acknowledged Villa have “an issue” to resolve in the case of Watkins, while they are working to find Emiliano Martínez a new club.
The Villa manager insisted, while his preference would be to retain Watkins, who turns 31 in December, he is happy to absorb so many headline departures. “We have had offers for him,” Emery said. “If it’s a good option for him and the club and I can replace him in the squad, this is the routine we have, and we did before with the players who are leaving. There are 10 days more or less to finish the transfer window, we will see what happens … if he is leaving it’s because it is good for three ways, one is him, another is the club and another is the team.”
Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne and Ezri Konsa have left Villa this summer and Emery conceded he “definitely” did not expect so many exits. As many as six of the players who started Villa’s Europa League triumph over Freiburg in May could be sold by the close of the transfer window.
Villa have signed the Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki from Parma to replace Martínez, who for the second successive summer wants a fresh challenge. Villa travel to Brighton on Sunday and could also hand debuts to Matteo Ruggeri, Alejandro Garnacho and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who trained with Villa for the first time on Friday after completing a loan move from West Ham that contains a conditional obligation for Villa to sign the defender permanently.
Emery played down concerns about the high turnover within his squad. “I am so, so happy because these are the consequences of performing fantastically,” the Villa manager said. “The team, the players are performing at a high level and they are getting offers from teams to change their challenges and of course getting a good deal with the clubs. For me as a coach, my first target since I started working is to improve players, to improve teams, to have collectively our objectives and then individually the players through their development. When I or the club is then achieving it, I’m feeling really proud of the work we did.
“Yes, it’s difficult … we are challenging each year to be in the top positions, we are challenging to play in Europe, and we are getting it. This year, more [challenges] but OK. Last year we had changes, three years ago as well. Of course, when we are getting our best performances collectively and individually, we are getting them in the last three years. This year is when maybe the consequence, because they are calling our players and they are getting good deals with the clubs.” Ben Fisher
3. Shakhtar to play European games at Chelsea
Shakhtar Donetsk are seeking to play their home Champions League games at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge ground. The Ukrainians have not been able to use the Donbas Arena since 2014 when Russia annexed the Donetsk region, which has led Shakhtar to play domestic games in Kyiv and Lviv, while their European fixtures have been hosted in Germany, Slovenia and Poland.
The switch to Stamford Bridge is subject to regulatory approvals, but Chelsea, who failed to qualify for Europe last season, hope to be able to offer Shakhtar and the club’s supporters a warm welcome in west London.
“Shakhtar have played in countries across Europe and we look forward to welcoming them to London for their Champions League campaign this year,” Chelsea said in a club statement. “We will be working with the Shakhtar team closely over the coming weeks to ensure that matchdays run safely and smoothly for their team and supporters.”
Shakhtar welcomed the decision. “Playing our Champions League home matches at Stamford Bridge is a special opportunity for Shakhtar. We are grateful to Chelsea Football Club for the opportunity to host our games at this special venue,” the club said. PA Media
4. No easy start at Hull for United – Carrick
Michael Carrick expects a far tougher Premier League opener at promoted Hull than many predict as Manchester United attempt to carry on where they left off last season against the unfancied Championship playoff winners.
The manager dismissed the suggestion that United have a favourable start to the campaign as “pretty ridiculous” even though their second fixture is a home match against Ipswich, another promoted side. But last season’s third-placed club are heavy favourites to begin their campaign by beating Hull, who will be backed by a packed house and are considered by many an unknown quantity given their swathe of summer signings.
“That’s the beauty of the new season,” Carrick said. “I think certainly for teams coming up in the league, for the most part there tends to be quite a few changes within the group, the playing group. It’s always the challenge when you’re playing against them. There’s that freshness, there’s that buzz around the football club of coming into the Premier League and what that brings.
“We’re fully aware of that. We’ll be prepared, obviously, mentally and physically. We’ve done a lot of work anyway. But mentally, we’ll be prepared. We know what the game is going to bring and how good we need to be to get the right result.” PA Media
5. Rose primed for City’s ‘tough challenge’
Marco Rose is talking positively before his first competitive match in charge of Bournemouth, at Manchester City on Sunday. The German head coach was unveiled in May after Andoni Iraola made the decision to leave the south coast club.
The Cherries are one of nine Premier League teams to make a managerial change this summer and Rose knows what to expect up against Enzo Maresca, another of the coaching newbies this season.
“The things I saw so far with Chelsea and now Manchester City, it’s a clear idea, a clear philosophy,” Rose said. “You know what you get, you know what they want to play, you see the processes and the approach they have.
“It’s quite intense against the ball, high pressing and, with the ball, you know what quality you face and you see a clear idea in established play. It’s a tough challenge but we are quite positive. We had a really good pre-season. I settled in very well and everyone supported me and the new coaching staff.” PA Media
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