Liverpool star who only joined last summer among three players fighting for immediate future

Liverpool’s new era under Andoni Iraola unofficially gets under way this weekend with the club’s first pre-season game.

The ex-Bournemouth head coach has been eager to dish out fresh starts for several players, who were fringe players in the old regime.

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What’s happened at Liverpool?

The Reds have been cleaning house following Arne Slot’s sacking last month, with a host of background staff also relieved of their duties.

Michael Edwards has stepped down as Fenway Sports Group’s (FSG) CEO of football, while sporting director Richard Hughes has been linked with a move to Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal.

Meanwhile, a consortium backed by the Mittal family are also in talks to buy a minority stake in Liverpool, talkSPORT understands.

On the pitch, Iraola has taken charge of a Liverpool team in transition, with Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, and Ibrahima Konate all departing at the end of last season.

The Spaniard has brought Tommy Elphick from Bournemouth as a first-team coach, but transfer activity remains thin on the ground.

Jeremy Jacquet has officially arrived from Rennes after a deal for the 21-year-old was agreed on deadline day of the winter window.

During the World Cup, Liverpool then signed Spain’s Victor Munoz, having successfully hijacked Newcastle’s move for the winger.

However, Iraola’s pre-season squad – made even thinner by stars on an extended break following their international exploits – has provided an opportunity for fringe players to stake their claims.

Here, talkSPORT.com runs through three players who have the most to prove to their new boss that they should be in next season’s plans.

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Trey Nyoni: ‘Pre-season tour is an opportunity’

The 19-year-old understandably realises that the Reds’ pre-season tour of the USA is an ideal opportunity to prove his qualities to Iraola.

He told Liverpoolfc.com: “It’s exciting times ahead. It’s been good to be back and to see everyone again, and I’m ready to go.

“There are still a few players away [due to the World Cup] so obviously there’s an opportunity to play [in the USA] and just show what I can do in that sense.

“But I’ll just go out there and just enjoy it and just try to do my best.”

Nyoni was one of two Liverpool starlets tipped for a breakout season in 2025/26, with the other living up to the billing in Rio Ngumoha.

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He impressed in Arne Slot’s first pre-season in 2024, but made just five senior outings, with his fortunes unchanged last campaign.

The England U19 international only managed six Premier League appearances last season – which added up to a combined 21 minutes.

Now, with Curtis Jones looking increasingly likely to stay amid interest from Inter, a pathway to a midfield spot at Liverpool remains blocked.

For Nyoni, a move to Swansea City has been mooted, with former Anfield coach Vitor Matos in charge of the Championship outfit.

The ex-Leicester City academy talent will have a major opportunity in the USA to convince Iraola his immediate future is at Liverpool.

Elliott ‘will have a chance during pre-season’

This time last year, Harvey Elliott had the world at his feet after his starring role in the Young Lions’ defence of their U21 Euro title.

The 23-year-old was named the player of the tournament after scoring five goals for Lee Carsley‘s side – which was second only to Newcastle’s record signing, Nick Woltemade.

His standout success escalated his ambition to leave boyhood club Liverpool, having made just six starts in the 2024/25 season.

He ultimately joined Aston Villa on deadline day on an initial loan with a £35million obligation to buy once he made 10 league appearances.

Unfortunately for Elliott, Unai Emery quickly stated publicly that his side had no interest in signing him from Liverpool permanently.

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Villa’s stance meant the Fulham academy talent was either excluded from most matchday squads or left languishing on the bench.

Elliott played just 13 Premier League minutes from the end of September until returning to Liverpool for pre-season this summer.

The attacker only has one-year remaining on his Anfield contract, but new boss Iraola has claimed he will receive a genuine chance during pre-season rather than being forced straight back out the door.

“Harvey is here with us. He has come [in early] also,” Iraola told reporters in his first press conference earlier this month.

“I’ve seen him with this eagerness to show himself, to get himself ready again. He will have a chance during the pre-season; we will need him.

“It’s a good sign that he came a week earlier; he’s been training with the under-21s, and I hope we can see him in a good place.

“I think Harvey, last season, had to be very difficult for him, because it was a strange situation where basically they couldn’t even put him in to play.

“I think he uses what he has experienced, the bad situation, to make him even more eager to be a Liverpool player, yes.”

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Frimponged

Jeremie Frimpong was the first arrival of the Reds’ record-breaking £416m summer spend 12 months ago.

The Netherlands international had the best opportunity to hit the ground running as the replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold.

He scored in the Community Shield loss to Crystal Palace in August, but then suffered an injury on his Premier League debut.

That proved a sign of things to come, as Frimpong tweaked his hamstring in a 5-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt in mid-September.

His second injury ensured that the Dutchman didn’t start another Premier League game until after Christmas.

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A third hamstring setback in January only compounded his issues, and Frimpong ultimately missed out on a place in the World Cup.

In total, the former Bayer Leverkusen man started just 12 Premier League games, of which only seven were at right-back.

Conor Bradley remains a long-term absentee after suffering serious bone and ligament damage in his knee in January, with midfielders Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai forced to deputise in the position.

Iraola has already confirmed that the Reds are looking to find a solution at right-back, which could spell bad news for Frimpong.

“So with the centre-back and the right-back situations in terms of defensive depth, we are, I think, really thin right now, and it is a solution we are trying to find, yes,” he said.

This pre-season will be a vital opportunity for Frimpong to see if he can convince Iraola that an understudy, not a replacement, is needed.