Liverpool will open talks with Andoni Areola and is expected to meet quickly.
Liverpool are keen to open formal talks with Antony Areola this week as they step up their interest in appointing the Spaniard as a successor to the sacked Arnie Slott.
VfB Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeness and Lens’ Pierre Sage are also under consideration at Anfield but Iraola is the initial front-runner after Slot was dismissed on Saturday.
Now Liverpool are moving fast as they look to schedule an immediate appointment and, unlike Hoeness and Sage,
The 43-year-old is available after leaving Bournemouth, where he led the team to a sixth-place finish, their highest in history, during the previous season.
After a successful three-season spell in charge of Rayo Vallecano, Liverpool director of football Richard Hughes signed him to Bournemouth in 2023.
But Liverpool face competition for Areola, with AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen also interested and Crystal Palace pushing hard to sign him as a replacement for the departing Oliver Glasner.
Erraola also worked with Liverpool left-back Milos Krákyes at Bournemouth, helping the Hungary international move to Anfield.
In the end-of-season review that led to Slott’s departure, Liverpool concluded they wanted more immediate and attacking football – something that suited Areola’s fast-paced style of play.
Meanwhile, some of Slott’s backroom staff are chasing him, with performance coach Robin Peters confirming he is leaving. Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Sipke Hulshoff are also expected to depart.
The 47-year-old, who won the Premier League in his first season in charge, was sacked after Liverpool slipped to fifth this season, collecting just 60 points in all competitions and losing 19 games.
