How Andoni Iraola's style of play compares to Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot as Liverpool close in on next head coach

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Arne Slot's dismissal as Liverpool head coach after a disappointing defence of the Premier League title won in his debut season at Anfield was not entirely surprising.

Gerrard ‘gutted’ for Slot but admits Liverpool departure ‘not a surprise’

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Liverpool finished fifth, 25 points behind champions Arsenal, having spent lavishly in the summer transfer window.

While there were some suggestions that Slot might get another chance to put things right, there appeared to be major concerns with his style of play; more specifically, the supporters' disillusionment with it.

Mohamed Salah, in a forthright public statement after Liverpool's 4-2 loss at Aston Villa last month, even suggested that the club needed to return to the "heavy metal" football introduced by Jurgen Klopp.

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That high-intensity, effervescent style of play had been Liverpool's identity for several years and Slot's football was more measured by comparison.

This perhaps explains, then, why The Reds are turning to Andoni Iraola. The Basque's style of play is about as high-octane as it comes in the Premier League in 2026 and on the surface his potential appointment represents a shift back in the direction of Klopp.

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Crucially, Iraola has consistently got results in the Premier League with Bournemouth over the past three years, though it remains to be seen how he would fare at one of the biggest clubs in Europe.

At first glance, though, his arrival should excite Liverpool fans, not least because the key metrics suggest they will be watching fast, attacking football at Anfield again next season.

With the help of Opta, we have looked more closely at some of the numbers behind Iraola's Bournemouth team and how they compare to both Slot and Klopp's Liverpool sides.

Premier League (per 90 minutes)	Jurgen Klopp	Arne Slot	Andoni Iraola
Possession	61.7%	58.6%	47.5%
Possessions won	57.7	40.4	48.8
Possessions won final 1/3	5.6	4.2	5.2
High turnovers	9.6	7.8	8.6
Shot ending high turnovers	1.6	1.5	1.6
Goal ending high turnovers	0.1	0.3	0.2
Tackles	16.6	14.9	17.9
Shots from fast breaks	0.6	1.5	1.1
Passes per sequence	4.2	4.2	3.0
Passes per defensive action	10.2	10.9	10.6

The first statistic to note is average possession: Klopp's side, while often very direct, averaged 61.7% of the ball across his near-decade in the Premier League.

Slot's Liverpool team was not far behind with 58.6%, while Iraola's average possession at Bournemouth is noticeably lower at 47.5%.

The caveat here, of course, is that Liverpool - as the favourites in most games - will inevitably be expected to have more of the ball than Bournemouth, a smaller club with fewer resources and less capacity to dominate games in the same way.

But it is an indication nonetheless that Iraola is not overly concerned with possession for possession's sake.

Perhaps more importantly, Bournemouth's out-of-possession numbers under Iraola more closely resemble Klopp's Liverpool than Slot's Liverpool.

Iraola's Bournemouth averaged more possessions won (48.8), possessions won in the final third (5.2), high turnovers (8.6) and tackles (17.9) per 90 than Slot's Liverpool.

They also allowed fewer passes per defensive actions per 90 (10.6) than the latter (10.9).

All of this is evidence that Iraola's Liverpool will be more aggressive, more in the faces of opposition players than Slot's team.

There is also likely to be more of an emphasis on getting the ball forward quickly: Iraola's Bournemouth averaged fewer passes per sequence of play (3) than Klopp and Slot's sides (4.2).

Again, those numbers are likely to change slightly if Iraola takes charge of a team with more quality at his disposal but the fundamentals should remain the same.

What is clear is that Liverpool intend to bring "heavy metal" back to Anfield, rather than the more orchestral style introduced by Slot.

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