Andoni Iraola's First Impressions of McConnell and Koumas at Liverpool

Andoni Iraola has not needed long at Liverpool to spot something he likes.

Barely weeks into the job, and in the middle of dissecting a 4-2 pre-season defeat to Leeds United, the Spaniard has already identified two players who could alter the shape of his first-team squad: James McConnell and Lewis Koumas.

Academy pair forcing the issue

Both are familiar names inside the club, if not yet across the Premier League.

McConnell, a 21-year-old midfielder, has quietly accumulated 13 senior appearances for Liverpool. The club rated him, but not quite enough last season. Arne Slot decided he was not yet ready to handle the rhythm of playing every week and sent him to Ajax on loan in the summer of 2025, a move designed to harden his game and his mentality.

Koumas, 20, has had an even more fragmented route. Capable of operating wide or through the middle, the Wales international has just one Liverpool first-team outing to his name. His development has been scattered across loan spells at Stoke City, Birmingham City and Hull City, with mixed returns. Slot never once called on him in a competitive game and used McConnell only four times.

That could be about to change.

According to journalist Alan Nixon, Iraola has been “blown away” by the pair in his first days at the AXA Training Centre. Clubs want them on loan again. Liverpool have been willing to farm them out before, chasing experience and minutes. This time, the manager might slam that door shut.

Nixon reports that Iraola is seriously considering promoting McConnell and Koumas into his first-team group for next season and involving them far more regularly. The sense inside the camp is that both players have returned from their travels sharper, tougher, and more complete than when they left Anfield. Now, as Nixon puts it, they are “getting serious respect”.

For two players who had drifted to the edge of Liverpool’s plans under the previous regime, that shift matters. Under Iraola, they are no longer just names on a loan list. They are options.

Lessons from Leeds

Their emergence comes against the backdrop of a sobering afternoon against Leeds United.

Liverpool lost 4-2 in Sunday’s pre-season friendly, a result that stung even if the stakes were low. Iraola, though, sounded more intrigued than alarmed when he reflected on what he had seen.

“I think we learn a lot of things,” he said. “Obviously it’s not the result you want but I think [it was] probably the most useful friendly we played – in a positive way in the first half and in a negative way in the second half.

“I think we’ve learned a lot from today and I think we can take good conclusions and solve some things.”

The message was clear: the scoreline hurt, but the information it delivered was valuable. The first half showed what his team can look like when the structure holds and the press bites. The second half exposed what happens when intensity drops and concentration slips. For a coach building new habits, that contrast is gold.

First glimpses of the new era

There was more to digest than just the defensive lapses.

The Leeds game also brought the first pre-season minutes for Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Ryan Gravenberch, three players central to Liverpool’s evolving identity under Iraola.

“I think they did really good,” the manager said. “They played their first 45 minutes.

“Obviously Florian and Alex, because they were playing in the first half, they had an easier game or a better game.

“Ryan, it was costly for him. Jeremie [Frimpong] asked for the sub [but] I don’t think it’s an injury.

“It was just some overload and I hope he’s not injured in that way. I don’t think we’ve lost anyone.”

Wirtz and Isak enjoyed the cleaner of the two halves, finding space and rhythm before the contest opened up and Liverpool’s structure frayed. Gravenberch had to navigate the more chaotic second period, where the game stretched and control slipped. For Iraola, those 45-minute snapshots still offered enough to reinforce his belief in their roles.

The relief over Frimpong was another small win. Overload, not damage. Tired legs, not torn muscles. In pre-season, that distinction can define the mood of a camp.

A door opens

This is where McConnell and Koumas come back into focus.

A manager trying to implement a high-energy, aggressive style needs depth he can trust. He needs midfielders who can cover ground and press without the ball, attackers who can stretch defences and recycle possession quickly. He needs players who will accept roles, fight for minutes, and raise the standard of training every day.

Iraola appears to see that potential in the academy pair.

The club know the easy route. They could sanction more loans, send McConnell back to the continent, find Koumas another Championship home, and revisit their futures in a year’s time. That has been the pattern. But the new manager’s early admiration hints at a different plan: keep them close, coach them hard, and see whether they can grow into genuine first-team contributors rather than temporary solutions for other clubs.

Liverpool’s pre-season has already delivered a jolt in the form of a 4-2 defeat. It has also delivered a clue. In a summer dominated by big names like Wirtz, Isak and Gravenberch, Iraola might just be preparing to make room for two young players who refused to fade from view.

If McConnell and Koumas seize that opening, this could be the moment their Liverpool careers truly begin.