Alisson's Future at Liverpool: Iraola's Crucial Decision
Andoni Iraola has not even signed on the dotted line at Liverpool yet, but his first major decision is already looming large: what to do with Alisson.
The incoming head coach is expected to sit down with the Brazilian in the coming days for decisive talks over whether the club’s modern‑day goalkeeping great will stay at Anfield beyond the summer. The conversation will go a long way to shaping the early days of a new regime on Merseyside.
Slot out, Iraola in – and a brutal reset
Arne Slot believed he had the backing of the Liverpool hierarchy for next season. On Saturday, that illusion disappeared.
Following an end-of-season review led by Fenway Sports Group’s key figures – chief executive Michael Edwards and sporting director Richard Hughes – Slot was dismissed, despite having delivered Liverpool’s 20th Premier League title in his first campaign in charge. The second season, though, unravelled badly. Results dipped, performances sagged, and, crucially at Anfield, the Dutchman lost the fans. Once the mood in the stands turned, FSG did not hesitate.
Attention has already swung to Iraola. Liverpool are accelerating talks with the Basque coach and want his appointment wrapped up before the World Cup kicks off on June 11. Hughes knows exactly what he would be getting; he was the man who brought Iraola to Bournemouth in July 2023 and has long admired his work.
That familiarity will matter in the weeks ahead, because one of the biggest calls of the summer sits between the posts.
Alisson pushing for Juventus move
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Alisson intends to make his position clear when he meets Iraola. The 31‑year‑old is said to believe his Liverpool career is over and plans to tell the new coach as much.
Slot’s sacking has given Juventus renewed optimism that they can finally prise the goalkeeper away from Anfield. The Italian report claims Alisson has reached an agreement in principle with Juve on an initial three‑year deal, with an option for a further 12 months.
For now, Liverpool have blocked any exit. The club have been adamant they do not want to lose another pillar of the dressing room at a time when Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson are already heading for the door. Ibrahima Konaté has confirmed he will leave on a free transfer after contract talks collapsed. Leadership, experience, and continuity are draining away.
Yet Alisson is pushing. He does not want to share the No 1 role or fight for minutes with Giorgi Mamardashvili, who has been strongly linked with Liverpool and is admired by Iraola. Juventus, by contrast, are offering him what every elite goalkeeper craves: an undisputed starting spot.
That promise is doing its work.
Mamardashvili, Verbruggen and the shape of a new goal
This is where Iraola’s judgment becomes pivotal. If he decides Mamardashvili is his long‑term No 1 or asks the club to move aggressively for another first-choice goalkeeper, Liverpool’s stance on Alisson could soften. The Brazilian’s path to Turin would then open, and a defining chapter in recent Anfield history would close.
Liverpool have already started to map out their contingency plans. On May 15, it emerged that Brighton & Hove Albion’s Bart Verbruggen has been identified as a serious candidate to replace Alisson should the Brazilian leave. Young, highly rated, comfortable with the ball at his feet – Verbruggen fits the profile of a goalkeeper who could grow with a new‑look Liverpool under Iraola.
The club are not moving Alisson on by choice. They are reacting to a player determined to force through a move, while trying to protect the competitive core of a squad already losing some of its biggest voices.
A crossroads at Anfield
Behind the scenes, Liverpool are also “pushing” to secure their preferred successor to Salah, another major strand of a summer that threatens to redraw the spine of the team. A new coach, a new attacking talisman, potentially a new goalkeeper – this is not a tweak, it is a reset.
Everything now hinges on those first conversations between Iraola, Hughes and Alisson. Does the Brazilian buy into another cycle at Anfield, or does Liverpool’s next era begin without one of the defining figures of their recent past?
