Chris

[Anfield Sector @AnfieldSector]

[🟢] NEW: After so much negativity dragged down the mood in the Liverpool dressing room towards the end of Slot’s reign, sources close to a number of senior players say there’s a sense of excitement as a new era dawns.

[@TheAthleticFC] https://t.co/wjpf8yMXsN

[Grizz Khan @GrizzKhan]

Keep talking Don Andoni. We’re all ears. Suddenly the levels of optimism and excitement have risen. Pre season can’t come quick enough
#LFC

[Anfield Sector @AnfieldSector]

Full part two of Andoni Iraola interview. He speaks so well and is saying all the right things. 🇪🇸

https://t.co/ksbrWb2Mzv

[Anfield Sector @AnfieldSector]

Andoni Iraola on the US tour:

“Yes. I was also in pre-season with Bournemouth in the US, based also in Chicago. It's a very good chance to see the first games of the team. And for me personally, I'm sure I will also realise – I already know but I also will realise – how big this club is, how global this club has become, that we have supporters everywhere around the world. And I hope we can give them also good games.”

[Anfield Sector @AnfieldSector]

Andoni Iraola on his style of management:

“For me, we are a lot of things as a manager, but especially we are here to help the players. We have to provide, I always say a collective platform so everyone can do their job properly, and we can find the best roles for every player. We can make them think that they will improve individually also with us. We can give them a culture, an atmosphere, so everyone kind of… works as happily as possible. I always say, if everyone is happy and there is a good mood around the team, this gives you points - I have no doubt about this. As a manager it is always impossible to have everyone happy, but I think we have to establish a culture where everyone can feel comfortable doing their job because at the end we are here to do our job - in different places and different areas but we need to do our job and in the best atmosphere we can create.”

[Anfield Sector @AnfieldSector]

Andoni Iraola on getting Champions League football:

“Yes, massive respect for Arne, massive respect. He's been a Premier League champion and this is something that is massive, especially for a club like Liverpool. The Champions League, I had the chance to play it just once as a player. We used to qualify a lot for the Europa League [as a player at Athletic Club] but the Champions League, I've only played it once and I'm looking forward to play [it for the] first time as a coach. Big demands, also big chances to face the best teams in Europe and see where we are.”

[Anfield Sector @AnfieldSector]

Andoni Iraola on three years managing in the Premier League, not only managing Milos Kerkez, but also analysing the Liverpool players as well:

“Yes, definitely. For me, it's much easier to continue in the Premier League in terms of knowing the squad. We've analysed Liverpool a lot – possible weaknesses, the strengths. I think we have a very good squad. I think there is still work to do, like normally in every club in this moment of the season. But right now, for me the thing is to value especially the players that we have right now in the squad. For me, and I will tell them, [they] are all new signings. For me, you are all new signings and I think we have a lot of quality in our squad, and [I'm] really looking forward to working with them. I only had, I think, Milos in the squad before – I know a couple, I've been talking to a couple before – but it will be lovely also to play again with Milos, try to improve him, try to help him in his development. Yeah, definitely looking forward to it.”

[Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano]

🚨 Federico Chiesa: “I want to play regularly, if I don't find continuity in Premier League I have to look elsewhere”.

“The first year of Liverpool I practically didn't play… I'm going to pre season tour in the USA, then I'll talk to the club and the new coach Iraola and we'll see”, told Gazzetta.

[Moby @Mobyhaque1]

Jurgen Klopp’s agent Marc Kosicke tells Sky Sports Germany:

🎙️ “It is annoying (links to coaching jobs) Jürgen Klopp is happy in his role at Red Bull and has no ambitions to coach a club”

[Anfield Sector @AnfieldSector]

Reminder: Part two of Andoni Iraola’s interview will be out tomorrow morning.

[DaveOCKOP @DaveOCKOP]

Cody Gakpo in an interview with @ESPN:

“A shame that the manager has been sacked. Especially so soon after the season where we had fought to qualify for the Champions League. But yes, that… I believe the club released a statement about that with the explanation in it. I don’t think anyone, any of the players saw it coming. It certainly happened, but apart from that, I think many of our players at the club are also working towards the World Cup now.

“We have to put it to the side. I had of course sent him a message to thank him for the past two years and of course with the highlight of last season.”

[Born ‘n Red @bornnredlfc]

🚨 LIVE NOW!!! #LFC

[Ben Jacobs @JacobsBen]

Rio Ngumoha is not for sale, nor have Liverpool received any approach from Bayern or other clubs.

Ngumoha is on a long-term contract, established in the first team, and the aim this summer is for #LFC to add not diminish in wide areas.🔴

[Space | ™ @ITKSpace]

Bayern Munich, through head of sport Max Eberl and head coach Vincent Kompany, did indeed establish contact with Rio Ngumoha and his representatives in recent weeks in an attempt to position Bayern Munich as a potential destination for one of English football’s most highly regarded young talents, with those approaches arriving during a period in which the player was frustrated by his limited opportunities under former Liverpool head coach Arne Slot and uncertain whether his pathway to first-team football would immediately accelerate, leading Bayern to receive indications that he could hypothetically be open to a short-term alternative pathway in order to accelerate his development and accumulate valuable senior minutes at a smaller club and in a less demanding league, before eventually returning to Liverpool, the iconic and most decorated institution in English football on Merseyside that he has always regarded as his dream club, as a more complete, experienced and established player.

However, as discussions intensified, Bayern’s representatives made their financial position clear by indicating a valuation in the region of £35 million (€40 million), a figure viewed as so far removed from Liverpool’s internal assessment that serious negotiations never truly materialised, with Liverpool having absolutely no intention of entertaining the sale of one of their most prized academy talents, while those involved increasingly recognised the vast gulf between Bayern’s proposal and Liverpool’s expectations, further reinforced by Ngumoha’s insistence that any hypothetical departure would require mechanisms facilitating a future return to Anfield following his development elsewhere, meaning no personal agreement was ever reached between Bayern Munich and the player as several fundamental conditions surrounding any potential move never aligned, ultimately underlining where his heart remained throughout the process and where he continues to envision his long-term future.

The entire situation furthermore shifted dramatically the moment Arne Slot departed and Andoni Iraola arrived at Liverpool, effectively removing the very foundations upon which Bayern’s hopes had been built as Ngumoha’s outlook changed almost immediately, with the player now believing he has a genuine opportunity to establish himself under the new manager and determined to fight for his place rather than abandon his ambitions at the club he considers his footballing home, leaving Bayern increasingly aware that their chances had diminished significantly and that important discussions between the player and his new head coach would soon take place, a development which in turn ensured that discussions never advanced towards any form of personal agreement, as the player’s focus became centred almost exclusively on earning his opportunity at Liverpool rather than pursuing a move elsewhere.

For Bayern Munich, the outcome of the situation serves as yet another reminder of where the club increasingly finds itself within football’s modern hierarchy, because while Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona and the financial superpowers of the Premier League continue to compete for the sport’s most coveted talents, Bayern are finding themselves pushed further down the food chain and increasingly forced to operate in markets where competition is less fierce and rejection less likely, and with industry figures viewing as unrealistic any scenario involving Liverpool actively pushing Ngumoha out after the arrivals of targets such as Yan Diomande or Bradley Barcola, another target appears destined to join Bayern’s ever-growing collection of missed opportunities, a collection now so extensive that if one were to stack all the rejection letters accumulated over recent transfer windows they would likely form a wall high enough to block out the sun over Munich and cast a permanent shadow across Säbener Straße.

[Anfield Sector @AnfieldSector]

[🟢] NEW: “We have to see what’s going to happen around Cody Gakpo in case Liverpool receive an important proposal. There is interest in him. It’s going to be on Liverpool to decide whether he’s going to stay or let him leave.

[@FabrizioRomano YT]

[DaveOCKOP @DaveOCKOP]

Liverpool consider Rio Ngumoha untouchable and not for sale, according to @FabrizioRomano.

[Alex Crook ⚽️🎙 @alex_crook]

#LFC sources taken aback by the Bayern Rio story. No permission granted to speak to the player and no plans to sell.

[Born ‘n Red @bornnredlfc]

Everyone’s playing football manager recently so why not?! It’s @asim_lfc’ and @SajadIqbalLFC’ turn to play Richard Hughes. Tune in at 10pm. We’re LIVE then. Hosted by @The_jamin #LFC
https://t.co/KbrmFk3IB2

[Anfield Sector @AnfieldSector]

[🟢] CONFIRMED: Bayern made enquries about a potential move for Rio Ngumoha, but sources have indicated that no face-to-face discussions have taken place.

NO AGREEMENT over personal terms has been struck between Bayern and the player.

Sources close to Liverpool insist Ngumoha is not available and is viewed as an important member of the first team who operates in a position they are trying to strengthen.

[@SamiMokbel_BBC]

[Lewis Bower @LewisBower2021]

Told no chance Rio Ngumoha leaves Liverpool.