Andoni Iraola Faces Pressure at Liverpool After Tough Start
Andoni Iraola walked into Anfield knowing the job was big. It might be even bigger than he first thought.
Liverpool escaped the Champions League group stage last season, but that was the bare minimum. For a club of this size, simply getting out of the groups is background noise. This is a club that expects to stride into the latter rounds, not just appear on the fixture list.
The early mood around Iraola’s first campaign was bullish. With the squad on paper and the momentum of a new era, plenty believed Liverpool could sweep aside almost everything in front of them. That illusion did not last long. Key figures such as Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz never truly caught fire, and the season sagged under the weight of missed opportunities and injuries.
The belief that Liverpool could challenge for major honours faded. Iraola now has to drag it back.
Real Madrid circle – but not where Liverpool feared
In that context, any hint of good news in the transfer market matters. And it may have arrived from an unlikely source: Real Madrid.
The Spanish giants have been a recurring nightmare for Liverpool in recent years, and not only on the pitch. In the market, they have twice taken key players from Anfield – Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konaté – without paying a fee, capitalising on contracts that were allowed to run down. Liverpool only have themselves to blame for that, but the scars remain.
Both clubs shop in the same aisles, chase the same trophies, and often eye the same players. When Real Madrid want someone, the rest of Europe tends to brace itself.
This time, though, the noise from Madrid could work in Liverpool’s favour.
According to reporter Sacha Tavolieri, Real Madrid have turned their attention to Marcelo Brozović. Writing on his personal X account, Tavolieri said a Real representative has contacted the Croatian midfielder’s camp to test his interest and gather information after he left Al Nassr and became a free agent. The idea on the table is a one-season deal, with José Mourinho understood to be an admirer.
If that short-term move happens, it could carry a significant implication for Liverpool: Alexis Mac Allister might be safer than many feared.
A thin squad that cannot afford another hole
Liverpool’s depth has already been exposed. Last season’s injury list stretched the squad to breaking point, and the team suffered for it. When the games piled up, the options did not.
Heading into the 2026–27 campaign, Iraola cannot afford to repeat that mistake. Lose another key midfielder without a proper replacement and Liverpool risk stepping backwards at speed.
Mac Allister has long sat on Real Madrid’s radar. His name has been linked with the Bernabéu often enough to make Liverpool uneasy, especially with sections of the fanbase split on his performances. Some would not have minded cashing in after an inconsistent season.
But strip away the frustration and the numbers, and one fact remains: Liverpool are stronger with him than without him. In a squad already light on proven quality, moving him on without a clear upgrade would be reckless.
That is why Real’s interest in Brozović matters. A one-year stop-gap for Mourinho’s Madrid hints at a different plan in that area of the pitch, at least in the short term. If they move for the Croatian, the pressure around Mac Allister’s future eases, and Iraola can plan with a little more certainty.
Liverpool need that stability. They need building blocks, not more holes to plug.
Of course, the market can turn quickly. If Mourinho changes his mind late in the window and Real Madrid swing back towards Mac Allister, Liverpool’s position would become far more delicate. For now, though, a veteran Croatian midfielder might just be the unlikely figure buying Iraola time to rebuild a squad that still has to prove it belongs back among Europe’s elite.
