Iraola wants Mac Allister and Alisson to stay at Liverpool

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola expressed his desire for midfielder Alexis Mac Allister and goalkeeper Alisson to remain at Anfield. Mac Allister, who plays for Argentina, has two years remaining on the five-year contract he signed upon joining Liverpool in 2023. Despite speculation about his potential departure this summer due to the lack of new contract discussions, Iraola affirmed his commitment to keeping the midfielder. At a news conference in Chicago, during the start of Liverpool's pre-season tour of the United States, Iraola remarked, "I think Alexis has been one of the best players at the club for the last few years, and he has had a very good World Cup, so it is normal that other clubs want our best players. But I want to keep my good players. I’m looking forward more to signing new players rather than losing the ones we have here." Meanwhile, Alisson, who has a year left on his contract, has been linked with a transfer to Juventus. However, Iraola values the Brazilian's experience heading into the upcoming season. "I’m very happy with the situation we have right now in the goalkeeping area," Iraola explained. "Alisson is someone also in a changing room that has lost some references in terms of experience; I think he’s someone that definitely will help us in this process of adaptation of the new signings, of the young players. We need the references like Virgil [van Dijk], like Alisson, like Joe Gomez, players that have been here for a long time." Iraola acknowledged the need for defensive reinforcements during the summer transfer window, particularly at right-back, as Conor Bradley is still "months" away from returning to play after suffering a knee injury in January. "At the end, if you have a fully fit, healthy Conor Bradley, we are very happy, ready to go, and we would not be asking ourselves these questions," Iraola noted. "It’s a situation that is tricky because we trust Conor in the long term, we know we want him to be our right-back, but right now he is still a little bit far from returning. So, with the centre-back and right-back situation in terms of defensive depth, we are very thin right now, so I think it’s a solution that we are trying to find, yes."