Andoni Iraola could 'replace' four Liverpool players in January
Liverpool could be set for a very busy January transfer window as Andoni Iraola continues to mould the squad to his liking.
That is the opinion of experienced former Tottenham, Everton and Aston Villa scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
The Reds ultimately would have liked to have done more in the summer transfer window, leaving several gaps in the squad.
Liverpool signed Bradley Barcola, Ronald Araujo and Victor Munoz, with Jeremy Jacquet also officially arriving after a deal was agreed for him in February.
Several players, including Mohamed Salah, Ibrahima Konate, Curtis Jones and Andy Robertson, left, and not all of them have been replaced.
Nevertheless, Liverpool have started the season well and look to be finding their feet under the guidance of Iraola, winning four of their last five games across all competitions.
'These are players the new manager might be looking to replace'
Iraola will certainly hope to have the support to bolster his squad in the coming transfer windows.
Liverpool's only natural right-sided winger, Federico Chiesa, has missed the entirety of the season so far, and there is a significant lack of depth in defence and midfield.
"I look at [Florian] Wirtz and I think whether he's the player that the manager inherited, whether he could be moved on and a new player brought in," King told Football Insider.
"I look at [Cody] Gakpo, who has been talked of leaving and leaving and leaving. I look at the defenders [Joe] Gomez, [Jeremie] Frimpong.
"These are players I would imagine the new manager might be looking at to replace with players that he wants to bring in himself. Gomez promised an awful lot, but I don't think he's going to be getting a chance, to be honest, not looking at what he brought in there.
"So those two and the ones who could raise decent money would be Gapko or Wirtz. That's for sure."
What did Andoni Iraola say about the summer?
While Liverpool have started the season well, there is undoubtedly a concern that injuries could be hugely damaging.
Gakpo was injured for the Netherlands this week, and Alexander Isak has returned from the Sweden camp with a slight problem.
"I’m very happy with all the signings we’ve made," Iraola said when asked after the summer window had closed.
"I know the next question: ‘Do you want more signings in other positions?’ At the end the club has decided those signings we have done are the ones that improved our team and our position.
"There were other options we decided not to take, for different reasons: sometimes it is sporting reasons because they don’t improve what you have, sometimes it is economical reasons as it didn’t make sense in terms of the market to do those movements.
"But I’m happy now I know what we have, I have a lot of quality in the team and now it is the moment for us, for the players, for me to develop what we have.”