Liverpool can “absolutely” win the Premier League title with Andoni Iraola at the helm, according to Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams.

Iraola was confirmed as the Reds’ head coach earlier this week, as an exciting new era gets underway at Anfield.

The Spaniard promises to bring an attractive brand of football back to Liverpool, hopefully similar to Jurgen Klopp, having helped so many players excel at Bournemouth.

One of those individuals is Adams, and speaking to media while on international duty with the USA, he tipped the Reds for great things under Iraola.

?? Tyler Adams says he's "super excited" to see Alex Scott train with the England camp.

He adds Liverpool can "absolutely" win the Premier League under Andoni Iraola.?? pic.twitter.com/UdquQ1Qv6M

— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) June 6, 2026

“Can they? Liverpool? Absolutely,” Adams said.

“Under how he plays the game, with the types of players that they have and the style that he’s going to want to play, absolutely.”

Meanwhile, fellow Bournemouth midfielder David Brooks backed up that opinion, making it clear how highly he rates Iraola.

“I feel like once he left Bournemouth after three really good seasons, we knew he was going to a top team,” Brooks commented.

“We didn’t know who it was going to be or where it was going to be. I wish him all the success there.

“He’s been good for me, my career and he’s given Bournemouth European football.

“There’s no animosity towards him or any or the staff that go with him. We wish him all the best, just not when we play him.”

Andoni Iraola: Liverpool’s next title-winning boss?

Iraola has already spoken so impressively since taking charge of Liverpool, and it’s hard not to feel an instant connection with him.

Patience is going to be needed, with miracles not to be expected from day one, but he has all the tools to make the Reds genuine challengers again.

He demands an exceptional work ethic from his players and adopts an attacking style of play, but there is also a Spanish steeliness to him that won’t allow standards to drop.

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Klopp took time to become the legend that he was, not winning a trophy for nearly four years at Liverpool, and Iraola may also need time to make his mark.

But there is no reason why Liverpool can’t be in the mix to win the title from Iraola’s first season onwards, even if champions Arsenal are more settled currently.

If things don’t work out perfectly to begin, though, it is vital that an overreaction is avoided by the supporters.

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From Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush to Mo Salah and Sadio Mane: This Is Anfield writers and contributors curate the definitive top 25 list of Liverpool players.

Liverpool FC have had legendary names wear the shirt throughout their storied history, but who claims a place among the club’s greatest 25 players?

From world-class goalkeepers and colossal defenders, to all-action midfielders and jaw-dropping attackers, Liverpool have had it all when it comes to the best of the best.

It makes curating a definitive list of the greatest-ever players a tall order, with legitimate claims for more players than the list could possibly contain.

The official club website have kicked off their official list of the Reds’ 100 greatest players, but we’ve polled This Is Anfield writers and contributors to get our top 25.

Using a weighted points system to aggregate all the individual ballots, our list of Liverpool’s top-25 greatest players of all time has been created, as you can see below:

The Average Top 25 Liverpool Players

Calculated using a weighted points system from TIA writers and contributors, here is the definitive consensus on the greatest players in Liverpool FC history:

*Ranking based on a weighted average from TIA writers and contributors as of May 2026. Tie-breakers decided by frequency of appearance, then by highest individual peak position.

Did any players feature in every list?

Out of the 50 unique names provided, only eight appeared on every single ballot: Kenny Dalglish, Steven Gerrard, Ian Rush, Mo Salah, John Barnes, Graeme Souness, Virgil van Dijk, and Alan Hansen.

Key voting insights for top 25 list The Top Spot

Kenny Dalglish and Steven Gerrard were the only two players to receive a first-place vote. Dalglish averaged an impressive 1.33 position.

Consistency Kings

Only three players never dropped below 5th place: Rush, Gerrard, and Dalglish. Mo Salah followed closely with a low of 6th.

Greatest Defender

Virgil van Dijk (No. 7) officially claims the title of LFC’s greatest-ever defender, narrowly edging out Alan Hansen (No. 8).

Longevity

Billy Liddell remains the highest-ranked player to have played predominantly in the pre-Shankly era.

Squad Depth

The final 25 is heavily attack-oriented: featuring 10 attackers, 7 midfielders, 6 defenders, and 2 goalkeepers.

Every unique name in Liverpool’s greatest player vote

There were 50 different names in total submitted for our greatest-ever list, including players from the 1910s all the way to the modern era.

In positional order, they are:

Goalkeepers: Ray Clemence, Alisson, Elisha Scott, Bruce Grobbelaar, Tommy Lawrence

Defenders: Virgil van Dijk, Alan Hansen, Phil Thompson, Emlyn Hughes, Jamie Carragher, Ron Yeats, Sami Hyypia, Mark Lawrenson, Tommy Smith, Phil Neal, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Chris Lawler, Steve Nicol, Andy Robertson, Alan Kennedy

Midfielders: Steven Gerrard, John Barnes, Graeme Souness, Kevin Keegan, Ian Callaghan, Jordan Henderson, Steve McManaman, Terry McDermott, Ray Kennedy, Alex Raisbeck, Xabi Alonso, Jan Molby, Fabinho, Ronnie Whelan, Gary McAllister, Peter Beardsley

Forwards: Ian Rush, Kenny Dalglish, Mo Salah, Luis Suarez, Robbie Fowler, Billy Liddell, Roger Hunt, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Ian St John, Michael Owen, Gordon Hodgson, Steve Heighway, Fernando Torres

We’ll have more content around Liverpool’s greatest players of all time throughout the summer.

Rank your top 10 Liverpool FC players

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Diogo Jota’s widow has urged Scotland captain Andy Robertson to live the World Cup dream of his former Liverpool teammate.

Robertson spoke of Jota immediately after leading Scotland to qualification for the first time since 1998, revealing how his late friend had been on his mind throughout the build-up to the victory over Denmark which clinched their place at the tournament.

The pair had spoken of their dream of making the finals as they trained together during the 2022 tournament after Jota missed out on the Portugal squad through injury.

While his Scotland teammates celebrated, an emotional Robertson spoke of his grief that Jota would not be able to join him, four months after the 28-year-old died in a road accident that also killed his brother, Andre Silva.

Diogo Jota's wife, Rute Cardoso, has written a letter to Scotland captain Andy Robertson ahead of the World Cup.

She thanks Robertson for his friendship, and for preserving Diogo's memory. Robertson adds he'll have Jota at the forefront of his mind.? pic.twitter.com/h5KsfPyCCx

— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) June 8, 2026

In a letter to Robertson published by FIFA, Rute Cardoso, the mother of Jota’s three children, said: “I am writing to you with a heart full of longing, gratitude and, above all, pride.

“Diogo often spoke of you. Of the friendship you built, the battles you fought together, the challenges, the laughter, the conversations about football… and about dreams.

“The World Cup was one of those dreams, a dream that the two of you nurtured, side by side, with the same passion with which you took to the pitch.

“When I heard your words and learnt what you felt on that day when Scotland qualified for the World Cup, after so many years of waiting, I realised that Diogo never truly left the pitch.

“By achieving that moment and securing your place at the World Cup, you won’t be going alone. You’ll be taking his dream with you too. And when you step on to the pitch, I know it won’t just be you walking out, Diogo will be with you in your thoughts, in your steps, in your heart.

“So today, I want to thank you. Thank you for not forgetting him. Thank you for taking him with you. Thank you for turning the pain of loss into strength and into something so beautiful.

“That’s how we do it here at home too. Every day. He would be, and is, incredibly proud of you. Cherish that dream, Andy. Live it for yourself and for him.”

Robertson was filmed by FIFA reading out the letter and thanking his friend’s wife for her words.

The 32-year-old, who is moving to Tottenham this summer, said: “It’s obviously amazing of Rute to even take the time, for what she’s going through, to write me a letter, but it just sums up the person that she is.

Thankfully, I got to know her and the amazing times that they had.

“That letter will stay with me for a very long time.”

The 32-year-old added: “I’ll carry him in my heart and I know he’ll be with me come the first game, come the second game, come the third game and hopefully beyond that.

“He’s always there. The memories are always something that we bring up and sometimes laugh, sometimes cry.

“And that will be no different, especially going into a tournament which is full of emotion. I know he’ll be right at the front of my mind.

“I’m not only just playing for me, I’m playing for both of us.”

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Andoni Iraola was the hottest free agent on the manager market and for good reason, with a series of non-negotiables underpinning his philosophy.

The Basque led Bournemouth to sixth place with conviction in his philosophy, smart tactics and optimisation of the players at his disposal.

Now he’s at Liverpool with bigger resources but also bigger pressure to succeed. What will he bring to Anfield?

How did Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth press?

“

“Only once did we come away from the pressing game he demands and that was in a heavy defeat to Manchester City. Afterwards, he told me that he’d never do that again and that I should never let him do that again.”

Tommy Elphick
Iraola’s assistant speaks of the coach’s trust in his philosophy.

At first glance, the raw data does not suggest that Iraola will bring a markedly more front-footed approach than his predecessor, Arne Slot, but the crucial difference is in the detail.

Bournemouth’s marginally higher possession won in the final third was not only third-highest in the league, but more importantly, they led to the third-most shots taken as a result of a turnover.

Liverpool’s high regains usually came when trying to unlock a low block.

They picked up regains from smothering opponents’ attempts to counter, but they’d still have that settled defence in front of them once the ball was recovered.

Bournemouth’s regains come from pressing high against the opponent’s buildup. This means Iraola’s teams win the ball in situations with fewer defenders to beat and therefore a greater opportunity to shoot for goal.

The key to this is an approach Iraola helped pioneer back in his Rayo Vallecano days of ‘hybrid pressing’.

Essentially, this sees a team start by defending zonally, only to spring a trap and ‘lock on’ to a man-to-man press across the pitch, once triggered.

Here is an example: it’s 1-1 at St James’ Park and Newcastle are building from the back.

Bournemouth are pressing zonally in a 4-4-2 diamond shape, with one midfielder supporting the press and the other protecting the centre of the pitch.

By marking zones, Ryan Christie (at the top of the diamond) is outnumbered two-to-one, but when Bruno Guimaraes drops into the space to receive the ball, Christie presses him aggressively.

Recognising the trigger, Tyler Adams pushes up, the centre-back steps up to take his place and within two seconds Bournemouth are locked on man-to-man.

They steal the ball and score, going on to win 4-1. From zonal to man-to-man, from defence to attack, quickly, confidently and effectively.

On certain occasions, such as the 2-0 win over Aston Villa last November, Liverpool used this hybrid approach. For Slot, it was a tool for solving specific problems, one he was increasingly reluctant to use as his tenure progressed.

For Iraola, it’s non-negotiable: his teams press man-to-man. This is true if he has an injury crisis, if his opponent has better players, if they sit in a low block, his teams press man-to-man, no matter what.

Bournemouth’s buildup with the ball

“

“Today, modern football is the way that Bournemouth play. It’s not positional, you have to ride the rhythm. It is unbelievable.”

Pep Guardiola
Guardiola talks about how Iraola’s Bournemouth were the definition of a modern side.

Iraola’s approach in possession is not rated as highly as his innovative out-of-possession tactics, yet the evolution of his Bournemouth side to European qualification suggests he has greater dimensions.

Similar to Arne Slot, Iraola looks to attack through the wide areas, either by playing quickly through the thirds or going long.

However, where his predecessor wanted to create one-vs-ones, Iraola looks to overload these areas with what he calls ‘double threat’.

Both a winger and a support player – usually a full back but it can also be a midfielder – will combine out wide, creating a tension for opposition full backs and dragging opponents away from the centre.

This relies on constant unselfish movement, passing and running with purpose and intent.

Here’s Bournemouth in the first half of the first game of the season. Building up down the wing, Antoine Semenyo backs into his marker, with the midfielder already making a run in behind.

Slot would have his attacker find that midfielder in a one-vs-one against the full-back, but instead Antoine Semenyo uses the space to drive inside and switch to the opposite wing, stretching Liverpool’s defence and creating space in the centre.

As the ball is played wide, the full-back is already bombing up the pitch on the overlap to provide another double threat.

Here the cross is rushed and the attack fails. Yet despite it being the opening game of the season and full-back Adrien Truffert’s debut, Bournemouth already have their pattern instilled and attack with purpose.

Does it work against low blocks?

“

“We have to play against deep formations and quick thinking is much more important than quick running.”

One concern for how Iraola’s football will scale up at Anfield is that his team will have more of the ball than Bournemouth.

How will he coach against opponents who will allow his team to dominate possession and give fewer opportunities to press?

Across three seasons on the south coast, Bournemouth’s average possession rose year on year, as did their final league position.

They won only one of 13 games in which they dominated possession (55+ percent) yet they ranked sixth in the league for xG created against low blocks.

Iraola arguably does not have a problem creating chances against a more defensive opponent: it’s more likely that Bournemouth have a finishing problem.

Against the low block of Burnley in December, Bournemouth toiled until the 66th minute.

With so many Burnley shirts defending deep, defender Bafode Diakhite steps forward to make something happen: a simple double movement sees the right winger drop in, dragging a defender on his back while the right full back dashes into the space created.

But instead of allowing play to be funnelled wide, Diakhite plays short into the busy central region. This collapses Burnley’s block inwards to attempt to win the ball back.

Quick one-touch passes feed the ball across the line, but the initial action is poor and Burnley look to break.

Bournemouth immediately counter-press because Iraola’s teams don’t take a backwards step, so they force a poor clearance straight to Semenyo.

He hits it first time and finds the far corner. Had Bournemouth not conceded a late set piece, that would have been the winning goal.

While Slot relied on what he called ‘individual special moments’ to solve low blocks, Iraola attacks them with a combination of smart movement, wide threat and counter pressing.

How does it map onto Liverpool’s squad?

“

“At the beginning when you arrive at any club, I think you need to kind of prove a little bit yourself. You need to earn the right also to belong.”

Andoni Iraola
Iraola was speaking in his first interview as Liverpool head coach.

Much has been said about the stars leaving Liverpool this summer and the individuals who may arrive, but under Iraola, Bournemouth have been able to maintain their progression in recent years despite selling their best individuals because of the efficacy of the system.

Clearly, it’s useful to have Milos Kerkez reunited with the man who developed him on the south coast, and the narrow left-wing role dovetailing with him seems well suited to Florian Wirtz.

A game plan of overloading the wide areas and then finding central attackers in space also seems reminiscent of the Newcastle setup that worked best for Alexander Isak.

But for all the talk of individuals, once the system is embedded at Iraola’s club, it quickly becomes the star.

The new man has spoken about “earning the right to belong” at Anfield. If he can instil the conviction with which he attacks the game in all phases of play, he will quickly do just that.

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A senior reporter has described a potential transfer for Alex Scott to Liverpool as “one to watch,” and Divock Origi has announced his retirement.

Alex Scott transfer noise “seems to be growing”

Scott is not in the official squad, but the Bournemouth midfielder is currently training alongside Rio Ngumoha and the England team, helping Thomas Tuchel’s side prepare for the World Cup.

This hasn’t stopped him being linked with a move away from the Cherries, and talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook has now admitted that he could be “one to watch.”

The journalist said: “That noise seems to be growing and you can understand why, because I think it was problem last season for Liverpool, that midfield.

“Gravenberch and Mac Allister certainly weren’t on the same level, and Alex Scott is a player that Iraola knows well. I know Bournemouth are keen to tie him down to a new contract, but [it’s] certainly one to watch.”

As Crook mentions, his club are attempting to agree a new deal with the highly-rated 22-year-old.

Scott has already made himself a liked figure among Liverpool fans when he spoke to reporters about Andoni Iraola‘s move to Liverpool:

“I think the way we press out of possession is very aggressive, maybe similar to the early Klopp teams Liverpool had, that fierce aggressiveness and pressing with the wingers. I would say he is similar to that.”

Exclusive Offer ‘Go to Liverpool’ Personalized Children’s Book Purchase the brilliant ‘Go to Liverpool’ book in time for Father’s Day and get a free World Cup wall chart. LFC News: Origi retires, Leoni returns & viral Iraola song

• Origi has announced his retirement from football aged just 31, having not played a match for over two years – thank you for the memories, Divock

• Giovanni Leoni has shared an Instagram post indicating he has already returned to the AXA Training Centre to aid his recovery as he hopes to be fit for pre-season – that’s what we like to see!

• Catalan outlet Mundo Deportivo report that Darwin Nunez “would like to return to Liverpool,” but Chelsea and Barcelona are also interested – would you want to see him given another go?

• Liverpool fans mightn’t be quite ready yet to sing Iraola’s name, but we have a great song ready for when momentum begins to pick up! – have a listen to the viral tune here!

More from This Is Anfield

It is amazing the difference a week can make. James Coleman explains how Iraola, without having overseen a minute of training, has managed to inject some optimism into the Liverpool fanbase:

“There will be bumps along the way. There will be moments when we question things. There will be games when Liverpool get it wrong.

“But there will also be days when Anfield is bouncing and Liverpool simply overwhelm teams.

“Will we be lining the streets for another parade next June? I don’t know, but I’m confident we’re going to have a good time trying.”

Football News: Perez elected, Bellingham’s place & Eriksen doing well

• Jose Mourinho is set to be confirmed as Real Madrid‘s new manager, due to Florentino Perez being re-elected as the club’s president until 2030

• Christian Eriksen is doing well and expected to be discharged from hospital soon, after collapsing during Denmark’s friendly against Ukraine on Sunday evening

• Tuchel has said Jude Bellingham ‘has a fight on his hands’ to secure a starting spot for England at the World Cup

• Norway manager Stale Solbakken has called Scotland coach Steve Clarke “unprofessional” after the Scots cancelled a training ground friendly between the teams

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