Andoni Iraola's Liverpool Summer: Signings and Challenges
Andoni Iraola has just had his first real taste of a Liverpool summer. The tension. The expectation. The late-night calls that end in frustration. By the time the window finally shut, the 43-year-old had three new first‑team signings, one long‑planned arrival, and a glaring hole on the right wing where Mohamed Salah used to be.
Liverpool brought in Victor Munoz, Ronald Araujo and Bradley Barcola, while Jeremy Jacquet – signed under Arne Slot – at last walked through the door after his delayed move was completed. On paper, that is a sizeable reshaping. In reality, the story of the summer was the one that got away.
Minteh chase paused, not ended
Yankuba Minteh was supposed to be the answer out wide. Liverpool pushed hard. Brighton pushed back even harder.
Two hefty bids, £50 million and then £60m, went in for the 22‑year‑old. Both were rejected. Minteh stayed at the Amex, the Seagulls holding their line as the clock ticked down. Iraola went into the season without a like-for-like successor to Salah, and the sense of a job half-done lingered.
Now, though, there is a fresh crack of light.
Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler has openly suggested that Minteh’s future could be revisited when the market reopens in January. The 33‑year‑old said: “If the whole team is successful and the individual shines then Yankuba will get a lot of attention again and he can then maybe fulfil his dream in the next transfer window.”
For Iraola and Liverpool’s recruitment team, that line will not have gone unnoticed. The door Brighton slammed shut in August may only be locked until winter.
N’Guessan deal underlines long-term plan
Just as the fallout from Deadline Day threatened to sour the mood, Liverpool quietly landed another forward.
After the drama around Barcola and the scramble of September 1, the club announced they had agreed a deal to sign Djylian N'Guessan from Saint‑Etienne. The move, confirmed on Friday, will see the 18‑year‑old join permanently in January in a £4.3m transfer.
Liverpool have already mapped out his next steps. N’Guessan will immediately head back to France, joining Ligue 1 side Stade Brestois on loan for the 2026/27 season as part of his development path.
The teenager arrives with a taste of senior and international football already behind him. He has made 13 appearances for Saint‑Etienne, scoring once, and featured seven times for France at the U20 World Cup last year, where they finished fourth.
It is not the headline-grabbing, ready-made Salah replacement many supporters craved. But in a window that tested Iraola’s patience and Liverpool’s pulling power, the club’s faith in their new manager – and in a longer-term attacking rebuild – has been firmly nailed to the mast.
