Round-upAndoni Iraola press conference: Chicago benefits, Ngumoha and Wirtz positions, transfers and more
The Reds have completed two of the three fixtures scheduled to take place in the USA as part of their preparations for the 2026-27 campaign.
A win against Sunderland in Nashville last weekend was followed by Wednesday night's victory over Wrexham in New York.
Liverpool will complete their match action by facing Premier League counterparts Leeds United at Soldier Field on Sunday (9pm BST kick-off) ahead of finishing up their pre-season back on Merseyside.
- Watch all of Liverpool's pre-season matches live on All Red Video this summer - join here
On Thursday, Iraola answered questions from the media - see what he had to say on a range of topics below…
On how he has grown as a head coach in the last year since being in Chicago with former club AFC Bournemouth...
I want to think I'm much better than I was one year before. I think I have one more year of experience in the Premier League. It was obviously for me personally an incredible season last season. But now it's a different challenge. The expectations are going to be higher, the level of the players is higher and it's a matter of [it being] a challenge for me as a coach to adapt tactically to new scenarios. Now the first steps, the first pre-season tour, I think is going well. I'm quite happy, but it's true that we need to still have a lot of the senior players, integrate them, and it has been quite progressive, but I think we are in a good direction.
On Florian Wirtz's potential influence for him and whether he will play against Leeds...
Obviously, [it's] all the players, honestly, but with Flo, especially, I think we need a very good version of Florian. We know what he can give us. I think he's also suited to our game model. I see him more probably in that position behind the striker. We know that he has played with Germany more on the left sometimes.
But I think we're going to start working with him in that position behind the striker. He's quite complete as a player. I think we are going to try to add more things to what he already has that is very good and I've seen him [in the] first days of training in a good place mentally and I hope he starts well and strong.
On whether there's any update on the potential for signings after the injury to Joe Gomez...
No, right now, you've seen [in] these games we are pretty thin in the centre-back position. We still don't have Virgil [van Dijk]. The only real centre-backs we have right now are Mor [Talla Ndiaye] and Ife [Ndukwe] that are 18 years old, just arrived to the club and they are doing incredibly well.
Yesterday [against Wrexham] Luke Chambers played there, he is not a centre-back, but he played really, really well. We will have to [do that] until we recover some bodies. I think Jeremy [Jacquet] is ready to go. We will recover Virgil, but I'm happy that playing against Sunderland and against Wrexham - good teams - with 18-year-old centre backs, the team has showed composure, solidity at the back and that speaks very well about them.
On how much he has enjoyed Chicago and how beneficial the training camp has been...
I was really happy when I found out we were coming again to Chicago. I was here [in the] past pre-season with Bournemouth. We spent two weeks. I think it's a nice city, proper facilities, but especially when you have some time you can go to the city, have a coffee, maybe once go for dinner somewhere. People are also very respectful.
I understand now the repercussion of Liverpool is not the same as when I came last season, but still it's been really nice, really, really nice. I hope we can finish it in a proper way also against Leeds. We will not have to travel also for the last game because the other day the travel was messy with the storm. I think we can finish these two weeks properly.
On Rio Ngumoha playing on the right side against Wrexham and his thinking behind it...
Two aspects. First, our wingers, I normally used to try to encourage them to have the ability to play both sides. I know some of them are more comfortable on one side, but our team is not normally symmetrical. So sometimes one of the wingers has to do more defensive work, sometimes one has to play higher, has to be more inside, more outside.
So, if you can give me the option to put you [on] both sides, it's going to be, selflessly, even easier for you to get minutes. Also, now in pre-season I have to see where they are more comfortable, but in my previous clubs most of the wingers have played both sides. Then even during games we've changed a lot of times the sides of the winger. I would like now if we can have this versatility, for me it's a big help.
On whether any winger that could arrive in the transfer window would need the ability to play on both sides…
Yes, I think it's a great skill to have because at the end you become less predictable. I know most of them have one preferred side, but maybe you are going to play there 70 per cent of their games, or maybe we need you somewhere in the other side for some games because we want to exploit one concrete match-up, or because we see there can be a weakness in the other side and something that tactically we can see if you have the chance to play both sides. I think it becomes better for you to have more minutes and also better for us because we can use better the squad.
On how important Alexander Isak is going to be...
Yeah, Alex, I think he has come in a good place. I think he was good in the World Cup. I saw him comfortable. First training is here and I think I've seen a good version of Alex. Still it's very early because he has just started training. But I hope he can have some minutes against Leeds and build a proper pre-season. It's not going to be very long, but he will have three or four weeks of quality training I hope and then we can put him in a good place because he's going to be massive for us this season.
On whether it will be a few weeks until supporters 'see the team he wants' due to the World Cup and with the transfer market open until September...
Probably, but not because I am going to meet the players late, or we are going to sign the players later. Even having my team ready for pre-season when there is a change of manager, these things take some time. I would like to say on the first day we are going to be perfect, that we're going to be in place, but probably it's not going to be like this. We will have to do the adaptation as quickly as possible.
I particularly hate this month of August because you start the competition, you still don't know if some of the players are going to leave, who is going to come, there is a lot of uncertainty. It's difficult to build a proper team with a lot of question marks, but it is what it is, it is the same for all the teams. It is the same every season and I particularly enjoy when it's the first of September - done, this is who we are and we build from here. But we have to deal with this month of August that I think a lot the coaches, if not all, we don't like it.
On whether anyone in the squad has 'surprised' him during the training camp...
Yeah, a lot of players have surprised me, especially the younger players that I didn't know before. Because the senior players, you've played against them, you more or less know them, but a lot the young players, they have given a very high level. Very, very high level in these friendly games. They still have room to grow, that is always very good. We will recover players, it's not like if we play with the same 11 we played yesterday, it wouldn't be a good thing for us against Newcastle.
Definitely we are going to recover players. The ones that are also important because they've been in the World Cup, they've taken more responsibility in the previous seasons. Now it's a challenge with the first job with this group of players that have been here the first two weeks, and now we have to integrate the new ones slowly, slowly, but we have the advantage that we have some of the players who know more or less where we are going and also can help in this process.