Liverpool
Iraola explores Liverpool’s next steps on Salah’s flank
Iraola weighs Liverpool’s left-heavy attack, with Barcola, Muñoz and Ngumoha under review.
Andoni Iraola has offered a clearer look at how Liverpool may try to move on from Mohamed Salah’s departed role, with the club still searching for the right blend on the wings. With Salah’s name formally removed from the roster just over two months ago, Liverpool’s rebuild on the flanks remains unfinished.
Bradley Barcola is central to the plan. The Frenchman, now Liverpool’s second most expensive signing in club history, arrives with a strong record from the 2024-25 season at Paris Saint-Germain, where he produced 22 goals and 22 assists. Yet his natural position is on the left, not the right, and that distinction matters. Like Salah, Barcola is a player who prefers to move inside from a flank, but from the opposite side.
That imbalance has already shown up elsewhere. Rio Ngumoha found the opening weekend against Newcastle United difficult, pinned wide by Lewis Hall and unable to make enough impact when drifting in on his weaker left foot. Liverpool’s wider options now look heavily weighted towards the left, with Barcola and Víctor Muñoz added to Cody Gakpo and Ngumoha, while Maghnes Akliouche, linked earlier in the summer, ended up at Paris Saint-Germain.
Iraola hinted that Muñoz could provide a more straightforward answer on the right. The Spaniard offers direct running, one-on-one intent and a more traditional wide role, which could help Liverpool supply Alexander Isak more quickly and more cleanly in the penalty area.
Before Liverpool’s Premier League meeting with Ipswich Town on Friday, Iraola said: “Víctor has played more games on the left in his career but has maybe been even better on the right,” he mused before Liverpool are due to play Ipswich Town in the Premier League on Friday.
He was also keen not to write off Ngumoha after one difficult outing. “We know Rio can play on the left and showed his qualities. He needs to develop on the right so it gives him more options to play,” the boss explained. “He is so young. [But] because he wasn’t incredible in the first game on the right, we can’t say he will never play on the right anymore.”
Liverpool’s summer business brought four new arrivals and a spend pushing $270 million (£200 million), but there were gaps elsewhere. No midfielder arrived after Curtis Jones was sold to Inter, while Andy Robertson left without replacement. At right back, injuries have left Iraola relying on makeshift solutions, including Dominik Szoboszlai, who has been “value”d as an emergency option.
Chelsea
Ngumoha explains why Liverpool move was an easy call after Chelsea exit
Ngumoha says Liverpool offered him a clearer route to first-team football than Chelsea ever could.
Rio Ngumoha has described his switch from Chelsea to Liverpool as an obvious decision, saying the promise of a clearer route to first-team football made the move straightforward.
Chelsea were frustrated to lose a highly rated youngster, with Liverpool eventually paying a minimum of $3.7 million after a tribunal. But for Ngumoha, the attraction of a defined pathway at Anfield outweighed everything else.
“I feel like I needed a new challenge,” Ngumoha told The Guardian. “Liverpool gave me a new pathway. The plan that they set for me was straightforward. It was a no-brainer. They just said if I prove myself then they know that I would definitely be a star for them in the making.”
The 18-year-old has already begun to justify that faith. After making his debut in the 2024-25 season, he went on to feature 29 times the following campaign, a year highlighted by a late winner against Newcastle United in the Premier League.
Arne Slot provided the platform for his breakthrough, and Ngumoha is now benefiting from fresh leadership. Andoni Iraola has given him regular starts and useful minutes from the bench, with the forward generally impressing and adding two assists.
Ngumoha also sees the Ballon d’Or as a realistic target in the future, helped by the wider impact of Harry Kane’s success. “Harry Kane winning the Ballon d’Or is definitely a big thing,” said the teenager. “It’s also helped English football now because everyone’s seen one of us win the Ballon d’Or , it is definitely encouraging many more people to want to be known as the best player in the world.
“For me, I would like to achieve it and I think I can do it.”
He will have the chance to discuss that ambition with Kane during the current international break, after being named once more in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad.
Ngumoha’s departure also reflects a familiar pattern. Chelsea’s habit of collecting elite young talent has often led to players seeking opportunities elsewhere, and he joins the likes of Marc Guéhi, Lewis Hall, Tino Livramento and Michael Olise in leaving Stamford Bridge in search of a clearer route to senior soccer.
Even so, Chelsea’s approach has not changed. Last summer they spent $167 million on four players aged 22 or under, yet minutes have remained hard to find. Dastan Satpayev has already gone on loan, while Geovany Quenda, Marco Palestra and Valentín Barco have managed only four Premier League starts between them.
Borussia Dortmund
Five Possible Moves for Estêvão, Ranked
Estêvão is short of minutes at Chelsea, and several major clubs could enter the picture.
Estêvão’s place in Xabi Alonso’s plans appears secure in theory, but the evidence on the pitch has told a different story. The Brazilian youngster has found minutes hard to come by in a system built around a back three and wingbacks, which has left little space for wide forwards. He was even left on the bench when Chelsea exited the Carabao Cup on penalties to Liverpool last month.
There was a reminder of what he can offer when Alonso shifted to a 4-2-3-1 for the recent win over Manchester United. Estêvão started on the right and produced a strong display. Yet that momentum did not last, with another formation change ahead of the defeat to Sunderland before the international break sending him back to the bench.
BBC Sport reported in September that Estêvão was among a small group of “untouchable” Chelsea players, alongside Moisés Caicedo, Cole Palmer and João Pedro. Even so, a player of his ability, and one who has long attracted attention, could eventually begin to look elsewhere if the current situation does not improve.
If that point arrives, several destinations could enter the picture.
Paris Saint-Germain remain a logical name in any discussion of elite attacking talent, particularly after their summer reshuffle. But with Lee Kang-in, Bradley Barcola and Gonçalo Ramos already moved on, and with Maghnes Akliouche, Ferran Torres and Mika Godts arriving, they are more likely to trust their current options. They have also been hit by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s ACL tear, though Luis Enrique still has plenty to work with.
Liverpool is another obvious possibility. After Mohamed Salah’s departure in the summer, Andoni Iraola has used Bradley Barcola, Cody Gakpo and Rio Ngumoha on the right wing, but that position may still need greater certainty. A Chelsea sale to a Premier League rival would be difficult to imagine, yet the financial logic is there.
Borussia Dortmund, meanwhile, would make sense only if the situation worsened and Chelsea agreed to a loan in January. They may not be as imposing as they once were, but the club still has a reputation for developing talent. Estêvão may not be the ideal Niko Kovać wide player, but Dortmund would be one to watch if temporary respite becomes the next step.
Liverpool
Van Dijk injury update raises fresh concern for Liverpool
Van Dijk has left the Netherlands camp injured, with Liverpool monitoring a problem that has lingered for weeks.
Virgil van Dijk has withdrawn from the Netherlands squad for their November camp because of an injury that has reportedly been troubling him for close to a month.
The update was understated, with the defender simply ruled out as “not fit enough” to take part. For Liverpool, it is another reminder of how heavily they have leaned on their captain this season.
Van Dijk’s place in international football had not been entirely secure either. The 35-year-old was persuaded by incoming head coach Xavi Hernández to keep the armband, and he brought up a century of caps against Serbia last month.
At club level, the reliance has been even clearer. Iraola has started Van Dijk in all 10 Premier League matches this season, underlining his importance to the side’s structure. He was given a rare rest in the Champions League, though his team still conceded three goals after he came off the bench against LASK.
That appearance followed the previous 3-0 defeat to Manchester City, a match in which he finished with discomfort. “I had a little knock in the end on my calf which is pretty painful,” the Dutchman told reporters. The Daily Mail’s Lewis Steele later reported that Van Dijk has been “managing a little niggle” since then.
The issue has been downplayed for now, and there is no suggestion that the defender cannot play through it if required. The Netherlands remain well placed to reach the Nations League quarterfinals and have enough defensive depth to cover his absence, even if their captain’s fitness will continue to draw attention.
