Andoni Iraola will be forced to acquaint himself with a new head goalkeeping coach at Liverpool after Xavi Valero made the decision to leave the club after just 12 months. Pre-season training gets underway next week as the Reds prepare for 2026/27, but the seasoned Spaniard - who re-joined Liverpool from West Ham United last year - will have no part.
Valero's Second Stint Ends
While The Athletic reports that his departure is in no way associated with Arne Slot's sacking, it is understood that the decision to part ways is amicable. The Anfield club will now consider a number of candidates as they look to appoint a successor to Valero, while goalkeeper development and pathway lead, Colin Stewart, will oversee the role in the interim.
Stewart also joined the club last year following a nine-year stint with Rangers and will look forward to working with the likes of Alisson, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Freddie Woodman and Armin Pecsi until a replacement for Valero is found.
Valero's departure marks the end of his second stint with Liverpool, having previously worked as part of Rafael Benitez's backroom staff between 2007 and 2010. He then followed the head coach to Inter Milan, Chelsea, Napoli and Real Madrid before taking up tenure with West Ham for a seven-year period.
Iraola's Arrival and New Backroom Staff
It comes as Iraola arrives with a number of backroom staff members of his own, as he looks to guide Liverpool back to glory in the new season. Tommy Elphick and Shaun Cooper arrive as first-team coaches, while Pablo de la Torre and Tom Webber join him as his respective assistant coach and tactical analyst.
That's after Sipke Hulshoff, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Ruben Peeters and Roderick van der Ham followed Slot away from Merseyside in May. There is an air of fresh-start fever around the club as a result of Iraola's arrival, following a subpar season under Slot.
Slot's Sacking and Iraola's Appointment
While Slot managed to guide the club to Champions League football for the new season with a fifth-place finish, a largely inconsistent start to the campaign prevented the Reds from defending the league title they won just a little over 12 months ago. As a result, Slot was handed his walking papers, with Iraola making the shock move from Bournemouth following a respectable sixth-place finish, which will see the Cherries also compete in Europe this coming season - albeit in the Europa League.
Speaking about the task at hand with Liverpool, Iraola said: "Really excited, really excited. Because obviously you know about Liverpool, you know that it's a big club, a massive club, one of the biggest in the world. But feeling inside and understanding a little bit more of this club, I always thought it's a special club. You don't need a lot of things to get attracted by Liverpool. Liverpool is Liverpool. But obviously the atmosphere, the supporters, the club, the players, the chance for me to coach top-level players, the chance to fight for titles. I think it cannot be more attractive than this. It's difficult to find it. So, really excited to start."
