Inside Liverpool's pre-season plans as Iraola starts work

New Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola has arrived at the club's AXA Training Centre, with most of the first-team players and staff due to report back to Merseyside next week on July 14.

That will give the Spaniard just over a month with his squad before Liverpool's first Premier League game, which is away at Newcastle on August 23.

So what does the next month or so look like for Iraola and Liverpool?

After the in-person introductions, one of the first things that will happen will be the individual assessments for the players on their return before the hard work begins.

The key focus will be playing a front-foot and aggressive style of football and there will inevitably be changes, with a revamped backroom staff, in terms of how things work. Iraola will be joined by Tommy Elphick and Shaun Cooper - who were with him at Bournemouth - as his first-team coaches.

If their time at Bournemouth is anything to go by, there will be intense running in the early days and the Spaniard is known to play an active part in drills.

He often referees in mini-training games and for any Liverpool fans wanting to get an early taste, there is an insightful clip on Bournemouth's YouTube channel, external in which Iraola is wearing a microphone during a training session in Marbella.

"Get really aggressive. Get used to this, because we will do this every week…" is one of many lines that stands out, in a clip where his enthusiasm and passion is clear to see.

"Andoni likes to take all of the sessions and be in the thick of it as opposed to leaving it to others," a Bournemouth source told BBC Sport last month.

Pablo de la Torre, who will join Iraola as an assistant coach, has worked with him previously in Cyprus, at Rayo Vallecano and at Bournemouth. The Spaniard is trusted by Iraola and will play a major role in ensuring that the Liverpool players are physically ready for playing the brand of football for which he is known.

Last month, De La Torre told Spanish publication AS, external: "He (Iraola) is incredibly intelligent, leads by example, and has a rare emotional stability in such a visceral sport. From day one, you sense he's different - his ability to read the game and its needs is almost unique. He filters information so players can digest it easily and apply it every week."

New to both of them, though, will be the challenge of dealing with midweek Champions League matches alongside Premier League games.

"The key is building a game model and team identity where players truly believe in the coach's idea," added De La Torre.

That much is imperative. Mohamed Salah's public comments calling out Liverpool's style of play under Arne Slot at the end of last season were damning - even if they did not play a direct role in Slot's sacking.

A simple eye test was enough to gauge that Liverpool lacked identity and the regularity of boos at Anfield were all factors that led to the end for Slot.

Key to Liverpool's revival will be bringing excitement back to Anfield and the signing of Victor Munoz, who said that his directness was a big part of what Iraola liked, suggests that there is already an awareness that his side will need to take risks in order to break down low blocks.

More incomings are expected, as well as outgoings, with Iraola keen to assess the current squad over the coming weeks. The academy players have already returned, while highly-rated 15-year-old Josh Abe will also travel to America for the pre-season tour.

From Liverpool's World Cup contingent of eight, only Alexis Mac Allister (Argentina) and Munoz (Spain) are still at the tournament - so Iraola will benefit from largely having a full squad at his disposal for most of pre-season.

Dominik Szoboszlai, Joe Gomez, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Curtis Jones, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Kostas Tsimikas are all due back next week.

Harvey Elliott, after a disappointing loan spell at Aston Villa, has already returned and met Iraola on Tuesday.

Jeremy Jacquet, who Liverpool signed from Rennes in a deal worth £60m, has joined up this week to help his acclimatisation. The French centre-back has successfully completed a rehabilitation programme following a shoulder injury and is expected to play a part in pre-season.

The likes of captain Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak were all eliminated in the round-of-32 and are expected to join up with the squad after their time off, when Liverpool depart for their pre-season tour of USA on July 20 - a day after the World Cup final.

With Brazil losing to Norway in the round-of-16, Alisson Becker is also expected to join up later on, while a few of the players who have been in rehabilitation, such as Giovanni Leoni, Conor Bradley and Wataru Endo have already been at the training ground over the summer.

Hugo Ekitike, another long-term absentee, has spent time working with a physiotherapist in Los Angeles as he makes progress on his recovery from his Achilles injury. The Frenchman is planning to report for sessions with Liverpool's medical department before the start of the season.

One of Iraola's priorities will be to determine whether Jacquet or Leoni are ready to start regularly alongside Virgil van Dijk once the season begins. Liverpool firmly believe in the potential of 20-year-old Jacquet and 19-year-old Leoni but it will be an immense ask to instantly be regulars at Premier League level.

Leoni's debut at Anfield last season was ruined by an anterior cruciate ligament injury and while no date has been set on his return, the belief is that he will be able to play a part in pre-season at some point.

As it stands, Iraola has a press conference scheduled in Chicago that will take place on July 21, with Liverpool's first friendly then taking place against Sunderland on July 25 in Nashville before games against Wrexham in New York and Leeds in Chicago.

The Reds will then conclude their pre-season with two fixtures at Anfield, hosting AS Monaco from Ligue 1 and Como 1907 from Serie A, who are managed by Cesc Fabregas.