Andoni Iraola in talks with three other clubs as Liverpool target 'given 24 hours'

View 3 Images

Liverpool may have to compete with three other clubs if they are to appoint Andoni Iraola . The Merseysiders have announced the sacking of Arne Slot after two seasons at the club and the Spaniard is frontrunner to take over.

Iraola, who left Bournemouth after guiding them into the Europa League for the first time in their history, has been tipped to replace Slot on the red side of Merseyside. However, the Reds do not have a clear run at it.

Crystal Palace , Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan have also been linked with the 43-year-old and are said to have held talks with him already. Liverpool will likely have to jostle with those three if they are to bring Iraola to Anfield.

According to the Daily Mail , Iraola is the front-runner for the Liverpool job, and he is well aware of the club's admiration for him. It's also been claimed Palace have offered Iraola the position at Selhurst Park and are hoping for a response from him by the end of the weekend, which is effectively a 24-hour deadline for the Spaniard.

Iraola is also understood to have held talks with AC Milan, who recently sacked Massimiliano Allegri, and Bayer Leverkusen, who parted with Erik ten Hag last summer and have had ex-Denmark manager Kasper Hjulmand in situ since.

FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FB PAGE! Latest Reds news and more on our dedicated Facebook page

In his final days at Bournemouth , Iraola met with incoming Cherries' boss Marco Rose to debrief him about the players and what to expect on the South Coast. Now his handover is finished, he will likely be looking to meet with Liverpool.

Iraola knows Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes, as the Merseysiders' boardroom chief was the one who brought the Spaniard over from Rayo Vallecano.

View 3 Images

At the time, Iraola was not well known in the Premier League , but he has since gone on to become one of the best managers in the division. He also left Bournemouth with, by a distance, the longest unbeaten streak in the Premier League this season.

The Cherries did not lose a Premier League match for the last 18 matches of the season, their last one coming back in January when they lost 3-2 to Arsenal on January 3. Meanwhile, Slot was given his marching orders after their disappointing Premier League title defence ended with a 5th-place finish.

View 3 Images

When his sacking was confirmed, Slot issued a brief statement to say thank you to his former colleagues and players. He said: "It's been an amazing ride together with Liverpool, I am so grateful that we were able to win the league last season."

It remains to be seen which clubs will look to hire Slot this summer, though he has been linked with AC Milan and Ajax.

Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.