Photo: AFC Bournemouth / CC BY 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola held a press conference at the club's pre-season training base in Chicago ahead of Sunday's friendly against Leeds United at Soldier Field (9pm BST kick-off), addressing Florian Wirtz's position, defensive injury concerns and the challenges of the summer transfer window.
Iraola confirmed he intends to use Wirtz in the role behind the striker rather than on the left flank, where the Germany international has frequently operated at international level. "We know that he has played with Germany more on the left sometimes, but I think we're going to start working with him in that position behind the striker," Iraola said.
The Liverpool head coach also flagged a shortage of available centre-backs following the injury to Joe Gomez, with Virgil van Dijk not yet in training. "The only real centre-backs we have right now are Mor [Talla Ndiaye] and Ife [Ndukwe] that are 18 years old, just arrived to the club," Iraola said. Jeremy Jacquet was described as ready to return, while Luke Chambers filled in at centre-back against Wrexham on Wednesday despite not being a natural in that position.
On the transfer window, Iraola said he expects the squad to take time to take shape, with the market remaining open until September. "I particularly hate this month of August because you start the competition, you still don't know if some of the players are going to leave, who is going to come, there is a lot of uncertainty," he said.
Iraola also addressed winger versatility, stating that any wide player arriving in the transfer window would ideally be capable of operating on both flanks. Rio Ngumoha was deployed on the right against Wrexham as part of that tactical assessment during pre-season.
On striker Alexander Isak, who featured at the World Cup, Iraola said the player had returned in good condition. "He's going to be massive for us this season," the manager said, adding that Isak could get minutes against Leeds.
Liverpool have played two of their three scheduled fixtures in the United States, beating Sunderland in Nashville and Wrexham in New York. The Leeds game on Sunday concludes the American leg of their pre-season before the squad returns to Merseyside.