4 Players Who Have No Long-Term Liverpool Future Under Andoni Iraola

· GiveMeSport

These 4 players have struggled so far under the new Liverpool manager...

Andoni Iraola got the better of his former side Bournemouth , as Liverpool secured all three points with a 1-0 win at the Vitality Stadium.

After a goalless first half, Liverpool improved in the second 45 minutes as Alexander Isak scored his fourth goal of the season in the 56th minute, which was enough for the Reds to take three points back to Merseyside .

It was a poor first half from Iraola's side, with many players standing out as they didn't look to be up to the game. The win was Liverpool's second of the season after five games as the Reds remain undefeated.

After five matches, Iraola is starting to find his preferred starting XI, and some big players aren't getting the minutes many expected. Here are some players whose long-term future could be elsewhere after Liverpool's first five league games.

Gravenberch joined Liverpool in 2023 and was immediately a key player in Jurgen Klopp's plans. He has made 143 appearances so far for Liverpool, and during his time he has won a Premier League title and a Carabao Cup.

Under Arne Slot, he was one of the first names on the team sheet and played some of his best football in the holding midfielder role. However, it hasn't been the same with Iraola now in charge.

So far this season, whilst he has featured in each game this season, Gravenberch has only started twice, with the former Bayern Munich midfielder limited to short substitute appearances, including in their most recent game against Bournemouth.

It appears that Iraola prefers a starting midfield duo of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai . Liverpool are struggling for depth in their midfield, so one injury could change Gravenberch's fortunes, as he could immediately be called upon for a more prominent role in Iraola's plans.

Since Jeremie Frimpong joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen, he hasn't lived up to the expectations placed upon him. In fairness, he was given big shoes to fill, replacing the important Trent Alexander-Arnold in the lineup.

Frimpong has struggled to cope with the physicality required in the Premier League, and has sometimes been seen playing in a more advanced role further up the pitch on the right wing to try and get the best out of him.

So far under Iraola, he has struggled for game time, with new signing Ronald Araujo starting at right-back, and Dominik Szoboszlai sometimes playing the role, showing just how far down the pecking order Frimpong is.

The Dutchman has featured three times in the league this season, starting twice, but his performances haven't allowed him to cement a position in the starting XI.

When Chiesa first joined Liverpool for a small fee, it was seen as an underrated signing that could bring lots of promise for Liverpool.

However, the Italian's time at Liverpool has been far from a success. He was the first signing under Slot, but he struggled for game time, and his performances were lacklustre even when he did play.

Injuries have hampered his time in England, and he currently remains sidelined with a back problem. Although it isn't expected he will get a run of minutes when he does return, considering the amount of firepower Iraola has at his disposal in attack.

Chiesa predominantly plays on the wing, and with Liverpool paying over £110 million for Bradley Barcola in the summer, as well as not allowing Cody Gakpo to leave, and Rio Ngumoha slowly earning more minutes, Chiesa is going to struggle for game time.

Wataru Endo was seen as a strange signing when he joined Liverpool, and it was clear he was never going to be anything more than a squad player during his time.

He was a feature on the bench for the first four games this season, but was left out in their recent trip to Bournemouth. He is yet to play a single minute so far this season, and was recently left out of Liverpool's Champions League squad list for the first half of the season.

Iraola admitted (per This is Anfield ): "The problem is, in front of him in his position, I have a lot of players.

> He is competing against a lot of players because we are also giving minutes to Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Szbozlai, and Trey Noni. But Wataru is definitely a player I like, and he will have his moments."

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