Alisson's Future at Liverpool: Iraola's First Challenge

Andoni Iraola has not even been confirmed as Liverpool head coach, yet the first battle lines of his tenure are already being drawn. At the heart of it: Alisson Becker, the goalkeeper who helped drag the club to the summit of English and European football, and who now believes his Anfield story is over.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Alisson intends to tell Iraola directly that he considers his Liverpool career finished and wants to leave this summer. Juventus are waiting, encouraged by what the Italian outlet describes as an “agreement in principle” over a three-year deal, with an option for a fourth season.

For Liverpool, it is a nightmare scenario arriving at the worst possible time.

Slot out, Iraola in – and a dressing room in flux

The decision to sack Arne Slot on Saturday, after an end-of-season review led by Fenway Sports Group chief executive Michael Edwards and sporting director Richard Hughes, has already shaken the club. Slot, who delivered Liverpool’s 20th Premier League title in his first campaign, saw his second season unravel so badly that he lost the fanbase – and with it, his job.

Into that vacuum steps Iraola, the Basque coach Hughes knows well from bringing him to Bournemouth in July 2023. Talks with the former Cherries boss will accelerate in the coming days as Liverpool push to finalise his appointment before the World Cup kicks off on June 11.

Those same talks will be decisive for Alisson’s future. For now, Liverpool have blocked his departure, wary of losing yet another pillar of the dressing room. But that stance is not set in stone. Once Iraola sits down with Alisson and Hughes, the picture could change quickly.

Juventus sense their moment

Slot’s dismissal has, in the words of Gazzetta, “restored hope” in Turin. Juventus believe the upheaval at Anfield gives them a fresh opening to lure the Brazilian away from Merseyside.

Alisson’s position is clear: he wants to be a guaranteed No 1. He does not want to share the stage or fight for minutes. The expectation that Giorgi Mamardashvili could arrive and compete for the shirt only hardens his stance. Juventus, by contrast, are offering exactly what he craves – status, security, and the gloves as their undisputed first choice.

Liverpool’s hierarchy are resisting, conscious of the scale of the exodus already underway. Mohamed Salah is leaving. Andy Robertson is leaving. Ibrahima Konaté has confirmed he will walk away on a free transfer after contract talks collapsed. To lose Alisson on top of that would rip out yet more leadership and experience from a squad already bracing for major change.

But the goalkeeper is pushing. He wants the move. And when a player of that stature is determined to go, clubs often find themselves managing the timing, not the outcome.

Verbruggen on the radar as Liverpool plan for life after Alisson

Liverpool have not been caught cold. On May 15, it emerged that Brighton & Hove Albion’s Bart Verbruggen has been identified as a potential successor to Alisson.

The 21-year-old Dutchman fits the profile Liverpool have often favoured: young, technically strong, comfortable in possession, with significant upside. If Iraola decides to place his faith in Mamardashvili as his long-term No 1, or pushes for a different signing altogether, the path for Alisson to join Juventus could finally clear.

That is the crux of it. Iraola’s goalkeeping call will not just define his tactical blueprint; it may also dictate whether one of the most influential figures of the Jürgen Klopp era walks away this summer.

A crossroads summer at Anfield

Behind the scenes, Liverpool are already “pushing” to secure their preferred successor to Salah in attack. They know they cannot allow too many holes to appear at once. Yet every decision now feels connected. Lose Salah, Robertson, Konaté and Alisson in the same window, and this becomes more than a refresh. It becomes a reset.

So Iraola’s first serious conversation as incoming Liverpool head coach will not be about formations, pressing triggers or transfer wishlists. It will be about a goalkeeper who has defined an era, sitting across the table and explaining why he thinks that era is over.

If Alisson gets his wish and heads for Turin, the question will not just be who replaces him. It will be whether Liverpool, in the space of one turbulent summer, can rebuild a new core strong enough to carry the club through the next decade.