SerpApi.Org
Andoni Iraola has warned Europe’s top clubs to forget about signing Alexis Mac Allister as he reiterated his desire to strengthen Liverpool’s squad.
The midfielder was integral to Argentina’s run to the World Cup final, leaving behind his disappointing domestic form from last season. He will be given a full three weeks to recover from those exertions in North America and, as a result, will not be ready for the new Premier League campaign.
No sooner had Mac Allister played against Spain on Sunday, reports emerged in South America that the 27-year-old, whose Anfield contract expires in June 2028, did not want to return to Merseyside and has his heart set on a €100m (£85m) move to Real Madrid.
The last thing Iraola, the Liverpool head coach, needs is drama around a significant figure within his group, and he made it clear after arriving in Chicago for the start of a three-game pre-season tour that he is counting on Mac Allister.
Iraola, who pointed to the contract extension that Dominik Szoboszlai received last week as a signal of ambition, said: “Alexis has been one of the best players of the club in the last [three] years. He has had a very good World Cup and it is normal that other clubs want our best players.
“They are our good players. It always happens in other markets. But I want to – also as other clubs want to – keep my good players. Probably I’m looking forward more to signing new players to the [good] ones we have here already.”
It is Liverpool’s intention to sign a right-winger as soon as possible and there is a sense that the transfer market will start to pick up in the coming weeks, as things calm down following the World Cup.
Iraola expects Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Ryan Gravenberch to join the squad next week, with the potential for them to have some involvement in the second friendly against Wrexham in New York on July 30. The onus is on Isak and Wirtz to improve this season is significant.
The remaining World Cup players – Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Alisson Becker – will also return to training next Monday, but they will be spared the transatlantic flight and, instead, begin their programmes at Liverpool’s AXA training ground.
Alisson had been linked with Juventus earlier in the summer and there was some doubt about whether he would see out the remaining 12 months of his contract, but Iraola confirmed the Brazil international would be his No 1.
It all aligns with Iraola’s desire to bring players in, rather than let big characters depart. The delicate nature of the squad was highlighted when the Basque confirmed it is unlikely that Hugo Ekitike or Conor Bradley will play again this calendar year while Giovanni Leoni is still not in full training.
“Right now we have different situations in terms of injuries,” said Iraola, who will take charge of his first game against Sunderland in Nashville on Saturday. “The three that you said that are big, big injuries. It’s taken them months to recover.
“And then apart from those three, we have Stefan [Bajcetic] and Wataru [Endo] that are close to getting to training with the group. They will even start on this tour – Stefan and Wataru – training not fully maybe, but partially with the group.
“With the others, we’ll have to wait more. I think the closest one to returning is Leoni [who ruptured his cruciate ligament on his debut last September]. Conor and Hugo especially are way off. We are talking about months and still a lot of time out.”
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