Liverpool’s new manager has made his view on Florian Wirtz plain: if the club are to take a step forward this season, they will need the German to operate at a high level. The challenge now is putting him in the conditions that suit him best.

Wirtz arrived last summer in a move that was a club-record $156 million (£116 million) at the time, but his first year on Merseyside fell well short of expectation. He did not record a Premier League assist before December and had to wait until Christmas for his first goal in any competition. A short spell of improved form followed around the turn of the year, yet the overall campaign remained deeply disappointing.

Liverpool’s wider struggles were part of the same picture. The side failed to build on the title they won in 2024-25, which led to Arne Slot’s departure and the arrival of Iraola this summer. The new coach is already focused on finding a structure that lets Wirtz show the level that once made him the most expensive British transfer of all time.

The most obvious adjustment is positional. Wirtz is naturally a central attacking midfielder and did the vast majority of his best work for Bayer Leverkusen in the No. 10 role. Slot often used him on the wing last season, partly to fit Dominik Szoboszlai into the side and partly to reduce the physical demands of Premier League midfield play. Iraola has indicated he does not intend to follow that route.

“We need a very good version of Florian,” the incoming coach warned ahead of Liverpool’s preseason clash with Leeds United . “We know what he can give us. I think he’s also suited to our game model.

“I see him more probably in that position behind the striker. We know that he has played with Germany more on the left sometimes. But, I think we’re going to start working with him in that position behind the striker.”

That matters because Wirtz needs involvement to influence games. Last season he averaged around 16 fewer touches per 90 minutes than in his final Leverkusen campaign, while his dribbles, shots and expected assists all dropped. He was also no longer the sole attacking reference point, with Mohamed Salah demanding the ball from the other side.

Salah’s exit gives Iraola another reason to believe Wirtz can settle into the role more naturally. For a player who takes risks in the final third, the manager’s style may provide the freedom he lacked last season.

Liverpool’s preparations for the Premier League opener have taken a clear hit, with Andoni Iraola confirming that Joe Gomez will not be ready for the trip to St James’ Park on Aug. 23.

The center back’s latest problem is understood not to be a major one, but the timeline is still enough to rule him out of the start of the season. Iraola made it plain that there is no realistic chance of a return in time for the opening fixture.

“Joe has a muscle injury,” he confirmed. “I think it was quite clear since he complained straight away, so it will depend how he evolves, but he will be some weeks off.

“It’s a muscle injury and [with] muscle injuries it is difficult to say one day, but normally I always put myself as one month.

“If it goes very good the injury is a little bit less, if [not] it goes a little more. It’s not massive, it’s a normal muscle injury, [but] I think it’s going to be impossible to have him for the start of the season because we are not so far [away]. It shouldn’t be a lot more.”

The issue adds to a defensive shortage that has shadowed Liverpool’s summer. Gomez began preseason as the only senior center back available, with Jérémy Jacquet still recovering from a shoulder injury and Giovanni Leoni working back from a serious knee problem.

Jacquet is expected to be fit for the Newcastle match, which would mark his first competitive appearance for Liverpool and in the Premier League. He is expected to line up alongside Van Dijk, provided the 35-year-old returns from vacation in good condition.

Any further problem would leave Iraola leaning again on academy options. He has already used Ifeanyi Ndukwe and Mor Talla Ndiaye in preseason, and he acknowledged the shortage directly.

“You have seen these games, we are pretty thin in the center back position,” Iraola conceded. “We still don’t have Virgil. The only real center backs we have right now are Mor and Ify, who are 18 years old, just arrived to the club and they are doing incredibly well.”

The Premier League remains a ruthless place for managers, and the 2026/27 season begins with that reality clearer than ever. A summer of upheaval has left dugouts across the division occupied by a fresh wave of appointments, while one club is still waiting to name a new head coach.

At the top of the list, Mikel Arteta stands alone as the league’s longest-serving manager. Appointed by Arsenal on Dec. 22, 2019, he has outlasted every other current rival and remains comfortably ahead of the pack. Behind him comes Unai Emery, who has been in charge of Aston Villa since Nov. 1, 2022, followed by Daniel Farke, who took over Leeds United on July 4, 2023.

Further down the rankings, the turnover becomes even more obvious. Régis Le Bris and Fabian Hürzeler both arrived in July 2024, while Frank Lampard, David Moyes, Sergej Jakirović, Keith Andrews and Michael Carrick all joined their clubs during 2024 and 2025. The list then tightens further still, with a cluster of appointments made only months before the new campaign.

There are notable cases throughout. Roberto De Zerbi, hired by Tottenham Hotspur on March 31, 2026, sits just outside the top 10. Michael Carrick is inside it after first being named interim Manchester United boss in January and then permanently hired in May. At the other extreme, Álvaro Arbeloa is the latest arrival, taking charge of Fulham on July 7 after an unsuccessful spell as Real Madrid boss.

A number of other clubs have also changed course recently, including Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Nottingham Forest, Ipswich Town, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth. Over half the division has turned to new managers in 2026 if Newcastle United are included, with the club still yet to appoint Eddie Howe’s successor.

For now, Arteta remains the benchmark for staying power in a league that rarely gives managers much time.