'Fearless' attacker ready for big role at Liverpool, Andoni Iraola loves him

Andoni Iraola may have only been in charge of Liverpool since the start of July but, in that time, he's already proven that things are going to be different from when Arne Slot was at the helm.

Even though the Dutchman won the Premier League title during his first season in charge, things just didn't go to plan during his second campaign.

This led to the former Feyenoord boss being relieved of his duties while also kick-starting the summer of change that the Reds have gone through.

Indeed, some more transfers could be made to improve the Reds' ranks but, one of the major differences between Iraola and Slot is the trust that the Spaniard has in youngsters.

At the moment, multiple Liverpool academy graduates are being linked with playing a big role for the Reds this season and now, another could also be making his way into Iraola's plans.

Lewis Koumas' performances have caught Andoni Iraola's eye

One of Liverpool's main areas of crisis at the moment is their attack.

Victor Munoz has been brought in and a couple of rumours are now starting to emerge about Liverpool finally getting their deals for Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye over the line.

However, until these moves are confirmed, there's obviously no knowing what the pecking order is going to be like or who's going to play where.

But, since depth is needed in attack, especially with Hugo Ekitike out of action, it's hardly surprising to see Lewis Koumas being linked with featuring heavily for Liverpool this season.

In fact, an update from the Daily Mail has even just confirmed how much Iraola likes the young Welshman.

"We should also give a word to Lewis Koumas," Lewis Steele wrote.

"The forward spent last year on loan at Hull City and was on the bench as the Tigers won the play-off final but has seriously caught Iraola’s eye this pre-season and could be given a chance – though clubs are circling for his signature."

Lewis Koumas has a huge chance to set up his future Liverpool career

Since Liverpool don't have an endless money pit, they've often had to make do with the players that they have at their disposal.

Last season for example, the Reds were suffering a massive injury crisis at right-back and, even though a couple players were linked with a Liverpool move, none of them ever came to fruition.

This forced Slot into using Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Curtis Jones as his right-back on multiple occasions.

Admittedly, they all performed rather well with some people even believing that Szoboszlai performed better as a right-back than a central midfielder.

However, this was obviously far from ideal and, since Liverpool now have other areas among their ranks that they need to upgrade, Iraola is going to have to trust some of the Reds' youngsters to play a regular role.

For Koumas, this is probably the best chance that he'll ever get to prove his worth.

Many youngsters don't end up making it to Liverpool's first-team squad but, if he manages to chip in with a few goals and assists before the January transfer window comes around, there's every chance that he could be kept at Liverpool and given regular playing time.

Obviously, he'd be at the bottom of the pecking order but, even just the odd appearance here and there could be enough for the "fearless" attacker to leave his mark.