Andoni Iraola Faces Key Decisions on Liverpool Goalkeepers and Centre-Backs

Andoni Iraola has barely had time to find his office at the AXA Training Centre, but the scale of his first Liverpool in-tray is already clear. At the top of it: goalkeepers and centre-backs. The spine of a team that expects to compete for everything, every season.

The 43-year-old has signed a two-year deal after Arne Slot’s dismissal, stepping into a club where uncertainty hangs over the most secure position Liverpool have known for years – the man in goal.

Alisson’s future shapes the whole plan

Alisson Becker, the bedrock of Liverpool’s recent era, has been strongly linked with Juventus. Liverpool triggered their option earlier this year to extend the Brazil international’s contract to the end of next season, and the club’s stance has long been simple: they want him to stay.

Reports in Brazil now suggest Alisson has decided to resist Juventus’ advances and remain at Anfield for at least one more year. If that holds, it changes everything. It keeps Liverpool’s world-class No.1 in place, but it also complicates the picture for the rest of the goalkeeping group.

Giorgi Mamardashvili, who made 20 appearances this season, sits right in the middle of that debate. Claims from Italy say his representatives have been offering him on loan to Serie A clubs. If Alisson stays and Mamardashvili seeks minutes elsewhere, Iraola suddenly has a familiar name being pushed back into the conversation.

Caoimhin Kelleher.

Sold to Brentford a year ago for an initial £12.5m, the Republic of Ireland international walked away from Anfield in search of regular football. He found it in west London and excelled, delivering a season that fully justified his decision to leave the comfort of the No.2 role behind.

Now, there is growing noise that the door back to Merseyside might not be entirely closed.

Kelleher’s rise puts big clubs on alert

Former Ireland, Chelsea and Aston Villa midfielder Andy Townsend believes Kelleher has outgrown his current surroundings and is ready to step back into the elite.

“I think he's a very reliable goalkeeper. He's developed into someone that I could see a bigger club than Brentford coming to take,” Townsend said, speaking to OLBG. He even drew a direct comparison with Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez, arguing the Stamford Bridge keeper “doesn't even come close” to Kelleher.

That’s a bold line, but it underlines how Kelleher’s reputation has shifted. No longer the promising deputy who shone in cup games for Liverpool, he is now the established No.1 for his country and a key figure for a solid Premier League side.

Townsend is adamant the next move must match that status.

“Brentford know they've got a good one, but it's got to be a bigger club,” he said. “Brentford had a good season, but it's got to be a club like Liverpool or Chelsea. I remain convinced that he could do that.”

The catch is obvious. Kelleher left Liverpool precisely because he did not want to be stuck on the bench again.

“He doesn't want to go anywhere now where he isn't the number one, he's shown he can handle that,” Townsend stressed. “He's the national team number one by a distance. The last thing he wants to do is go to a club like Liverpool and find himself playing only 10 or 15 games a season. He's done that already. If he goes anywhere, he wants to go in as a number one.”

That is the tension at the heart of any Liverpool reunion. If Alisson stays, Kelleher would walk straight back into the same dilemma he fought so hard to escape. If Alisson leaves, the equation flips completely – and Townsend believes Liverpool would know exactly where to look.

“If Alisson does decide to leave Liverpool, they could do a lot worse than Kelleher,” he said. “They know him very well and whenever he played for Liverpool, he was always very dependable.”

Newcastle and Chelsea are also name-checked by Townsend as potential destinations where Kelleher could arrive as an undisputed first choice. That is the standard he has set for his next move. Iraola and Liverpool, for now, must work out whether their goalkeeping jigsaw can ever fit him back in.

Centre-back rebuild points towards Brentford again

While the goalkeeping saga simmers, another problem is already burning hotter: centre-back.

Liverpool’s options in the heart of defence have thinned alarmingly. Captain Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez stand as Iraola’s only senior centre-halves following the departure of Ibrahima Konate. Behind them, the club hold high hopes for Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni, but both youngsters are returning from serious injuries and cannot be rushed into heavy responsibility.

For a club chasing major trophies, that is a fragile base.

Townsend sees another solution at Brentford. This time, it is their captain, Nathan Collins, who catches his eye.

“He's done really well, Nathan Collins,” Townsend said. “I know that Spurs have just signed (Marcos) Senesi from Bournemouth. I think Nathan Collins would have been a good fit for them.”

Collins has grown into a leader for Brentford and a mainstay for Ireland. The defender’s game has matured quickly, and Townsend believes he is now ready to climb a level.

“I think he could be a very talented centre-half,” he said. “He had too many mistakes in him 18 months ago, but he seems to have eradicated a lot of that. And he's a tall lad, he's quick enough, and he can play. So I think he's ready for an opportunity now to go and show that he can go up a notch. I think he can do it, I really do.”

The question, as always in the Premier League, is price.

“But whether Liverpool will be that and whether they would pay Brentford the sort of money they would want, I'm not sure, that is the only concern,” Townsend admitted. “But I think Nathan's got a lot of ability.”

His assessment of Collins’ development is telling. A couple of years ago, Townsend felt the defender was “a little bit soft” in his work, prone to “giving away easy goals”. The version on show now is different.

“I think now he's got better in that respect,” he said. “There is a more ruthless element to what he's doing defensively now, he's a bit more solid. Because of that, I think certainly there's a number of clubs that could do with a player like him and would benefit.”

Iraola’s early crossroads

So Iraola arrives at Liverpool with two clear pressure points and two potential answers both sitting at Brentford.

In goal, a former understudy who has proved he can be a leading man, but who will only listen if he is guaranteed the stage. At centre-back, a maturing international who has ironed out the rough edges and now looks ready to test himself at the very top.

Liverpool’s hierarchy must decide how aggressively they back their new head coach in those areas. Does Alisson’s expected stay delay any move for Kelleher and push the club towards a loan for Mamardashvili instead? Does the urgency at centre-back force them into a battle for Collins, even at a premium?

The answers will shape not just Iraola’s first season, but the core of Liverpool’s next defensive era.