Confirmed: Andoni Iraola wants 'great, great' star at Liverpool next season

Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola has confirmed his plan for the upcoming season. He wants one 'great, great' star at Anfield.

Andoni Iraola doesn’t even know what his squad will look like and the Premier League season kicks off in a month. Liverpool have been slow to rebuild after losing a few key players and it’s incredibly unclear who will stick around.

One player with an unbelievably uncertain future is Curtis Jones. The Scouser nearly joined Inter back in January and has just one year remaining on his contract.

It’s opened the door to a sale and reports in Italy have suggested talks between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest - possibly even an agreement - as well as Inter. Everything, it should be said, has pointed to Jones leaving the club for a cut-price fee.

That would feel like a disaster. Jones is the local lad in the team and one who is a fantastic academy success story. Letting him go on the cheap would be an awful decision and yet Liverpool are rapidly heading in that direction.

Unless Iraola is here to save the day. He might be. The new coach has spoken very positively of Jones, making it clear that he wants him to remain at the club this season.

"I will have the chance to speak with him today,” said Iraola, per the Liverpool Echo. "I rate Curtis very highly.

"For me he is a great, great player and I hope he can continue with us and continue performing the way he has been performing.

"It’s very important that he’s Scouse, that he’s from here. I also like the personality.

"From the outside at least he looks like a player with good character and I hope we can keep him, not only for this year but for more time."

It’s exactly what we want to hear. Jones should not only remain at Liverpool but play a key role - he’s one of the best players at the club, being completely honest.

It sounds as though Iraola is ready to give him that opportunity. Hopefully, it’s one that sorts this terrible situation for the better.