<p>The former Bournemouth boss has inked a two-year deal at Anfield and replaces Dutchman Slot, who was sacked a year after guiding Liverpool to the Premier League title.</p><p>The hiring process was led by Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes, who appointed Iraola at Bournemouth in 2023.</p><p>“<strong>Really excited, really excited</strong>,” Iraola said. “<strong>Because obviously you know about Liverpool, you know that it’s a big club, a massive club, one of the biggest in the world</strong>.</p><p>“But feeling inside and understanding a little bit more of this club, I always thought it’s a special club.</p><p>“You don’t need a lot of things to get attracted by Liverpool. Liverpool is Liverpool.</p><p>“<strong>But obviously the atmosphere, the supporters, the club, the players, the chance for me to coach top-level players, the chance to fight for titles. I think it cannot be more attractive than this. It’s difficult to find it. So, really excited to start</strong>.”</p><p>Iraola became available after leaving Bournemouth at the end of a superb season with the Cherries upon the expiry of his contract.</p><p>The Spaniard delivered European football for the first time in Bournemouth's 127-year history with a sixth-place finish and a spot in the Europa League.</p><p>They finished just one position and three points behind Liverpool and ended the campaign with an 18-game unbeaten run.</p><p>Iraola began his career in management in Cyprus with AEK Larnaca and had spells in his native Spain with Mirandes and Rayo Vallecano before joining Bournemouth.</p><p>Iraola garnered praise for implementing a high-pressure and progressive style of football, centred around attacking swiftly.</p><p>That approach would see him fit in well at Liverpool, who were renowned for their high-octane brand of football under Jurgen Klopp, a style that great Mohamed Salah urged the Merseyside club to revive before his departure.</p><p>Iraola now faces the difficult task of resuscitating a ‌side that stumbled to a fifth-placed finish last season, while ​also having to contend with the absence of Salah, ‌who had been Liverpool's main source of goals for the better part of the past decade.</p><p>The appointment also represents a significant step up for Iraola, with the Liverpool job being by far the most high-profile of ⁠his managerial career and ⁠serving as a litmus ‌test of his credentials.</p>