Iraola's blunt selection rule leaves five Liverpool players fighting for their futures

Andoni Iraola has made clear he will not soften the truth for Liverpool players uncertain of their place in his squad, insisting that honest, direct conversations about the pecking order are the only fair way to manage a large group competing for limited starts.

The Spaniard, appointed at Anfield in the summer after leaving Bournemouth, inherited a squad assembled across the Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot eras — one with genuine quality in several areas but also fierce internal competition that leaves some players with little prospect of regular minutes.

“You cannot tell a player if he comes here to talk to you, ‘Don’t worry, you will have your chances’ and maybe he doesn’t have the chances,” Iraola told the club’s website. “I prefer to tell him, ‘Hey, you have to fight for your position. You are in a difficult place because I’m preferring this one in front.’ So it’s more a challenge.”

He was equally candid about the dangers of making promises. “I don’t like to tell him, ‘Don’t worry, you will play.’ Because that’s a mistake when you promise, ‘Don’t worry, you will play a lot, you will have your minutes.’ Maybe he’s not playing well or he’s not deserving the minutes and then you cannot give him those minutes and you have a problem there.”

Iraola’s overriding principle is team-first decision-making. “It’s impossible to be fair with everyone, but I prefer to say every decision has to be putting the team first. Even if it’s difficult for me, the decision, if it is for the benefit of the team you have to take it.”

The policy has direct consequences for a handful of players already navigating uncertain situations. Alexis Mac Allister recently went public with his frustration over his contract, noting that midfield colleagues had signed new long-term deals while his own future remains unresolved. The Argentine has started three of Liverpool’s five league games, but with Florian Wirtz operating as the team’s number ten, only two central midfield berths remain — both of which appear to be held by Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch.

Spanish midfielder Victor Munoz is among others who will need clarity on where they stand, having been persuaded to make the move to Merseyside only to find opportunities limited in a crowded squad.

With calls growing for Liverpool to address certain areas of the squad in the transfer market, Iraola’s willingness to have uncomfortable conversations early may prove as important to squad harmony as any incoming signing.