Victor Munoz Returns Early to Prepare for Liverpool Debut

Victor Munoz has barely had time to put his World Cup medal down, but the new Liverpool winger has already decided the beach can wait.

The 23-year-old, signed from Osasuna after his £34.5million release clause was triggered in June, reported back early this week, sacrificing the final stretch of his mandatory post-tournament break to start life under Andoni Iraola as quickly as possible.

He trained at the club’s base for the first time on Wednesday, the injury that kept him sidelined for Spain in the United States now behind him. Spain lifted the World Cup for the second time last month; Munoz didn’t play a minute, but he still earned the three-week holiday guaranteed to all players involved.

He chose a different route.

“I was at the World Cup when the decision came through about the transfer,” Munoz told Liverpool’s official website. “I was in a position there where I couldn't play in the team for Spain so as soon as that competition was over the main thing on my agenda was getting here, training and getting to meet my team-mates.

“Obviously, you need time to adapt when you are moving to a new club and a new country so for me it was a case of the earlier I could get started, the better.”

For Iraola, whose first pre-season as Liverpool manager has been complicated by injuries, a thin squad and extended holidays for other World Cup players, Munoz’s decision is a welcome jolt of energy. The Basque coach has had to patch together line-ups on tour, and a bruising 4-2 defeat to Leeds in the United States – all four goals conceded in a chaotic second half – left a sour taste.

Now comes a first game at Anfield for Iraola on Sunday, against Monaco. It is only a friendly on paper. In reality, it feels like an early chance to reset.

Munoz wants in.

“Well, I think I'm ready,” he said. “Obviously if the coach says so after training and asks me to feature in the starting XI, I'll be there. I'm keen and I can't wait to get started. [Against] Monaco, why not?”

Liverpool will still tread carefully. Munoz has only just shaken off the fitness problems that ruined his World Cup involvement, and Iraola knows the risk of rushing a winger whose game is built on sharp changes of pace. But the player has made his intention clear: he wants to hit the ground running, and he wants to do it in front of the Kop.

For now, he remains the club’s only senior summer signing, the sole fresh face added to a squad that has already seen French centre-back Jeremy Jacquet arrive from Rennes in a £60m deal completed back in January. The lack of new recruits has only sharpened the focus on Munoz, a wide player expected to bring direct running and aggression to Liverpool’s flanks.

So why Anfield, and why now?

“I'm sure it's the correct step for me and this is exactly what the coach, Andoni, said to me as well – that he was going to put a lot of confidence in me,” Munoz explained.

“He rightly pointed out that I am quite a young player, I'm here as a professional and he is going to help me. He is going to help me to develop, and develop within and for this great club and in this mythical stadium, Anfield.”

A new manager in the dugout, a World Cup winner eager to skip his holiday for extra work, and a fanbase waiting to see how this Liverpool side will look under different hands. The first glimpse of Munoz in red might come as soon as Sunday – and if Iraola calls his name, the winger has already made one thing clear: he doesn’t intend to ease his way into this story.