Liverpool trigger £34.5m release clause to sign Osasuna winger Victor Munoz as Iraola's first recruit

Liverpool have moved to sign Victor Munoz from Osasuna for £34.5m after triggering the Spanish winger’s release clause, with the 22-year-old set to become Andoni Iraola’s first signing as head coach.

Munoz will sign a six-year deal after passing a medical in the United States, where he is currently on international duty with Spain at the World Cup. His fee will be paid in two instalments.

The move is the opening act in Liverpool’s broader rebuild of their forward line following Mohamed Salah’s departure. Munoz scored seven goals for Osasuna last season and is seen by the club as a versatile option capable of playing on either wing or at centre-forward — a flexibility that will matter early in the campaign, with Hugo Ekitike set to miss the start of the season due to an Achilles injury.

Iraola, himself Spanish, is said to have accelerated Liverpool’s pursuit of a player he knows well from La Liga. The move came as a surprise to Newcastle, who had made the first approach for Munoz — mirroring last summer’s transfer of Ekitike, when Liverpool also moved ahead of the Magpies to land a target.

Munoz had attracted interest from Manchester United, Bayer Leverkusen, Real Madrid and Barcelona before Liverpool acted. A return to Real Madrid, where Munoz came through the academy, was ruled out by the player himself amid concerns over first-team opportunities. Barcelona’s pursuit was blocked by Real, who held a matching-rights option; the Catalan club subsequently signed Anthony Gordon from Newcastle instead.

Liverpool are confident Munoz’s versatility will not affect the development of academy prospect Rio Ngumoha. The Spaniard is expected to be the first of two forward signings this summer, with the club also monitoring RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande — though Leipzig’s valuation and interest from Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain make that deal complicated. Federico Chiesa, who has drawn interest from clubs in Italy, could depart to create further space in the squad.