Andoni Iraola has plan to “maximise” Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz

Isak and Wirtz both reported to Liverpool’s pre-season camp in Chicago at the weekend and could make their first appearances back against Wrexham on Wednesday.

After a frustrating debut season at Anfield for the pair – and in particular £125 million striker Isak – a change of head coach offers them a chance to reset.

Iraola is clearly eager to work with Isak and Wirtz and the expectation is that both players will be key within the Spaniard’s system.

“I’m excited,” Iraola told The Anfield Wrap’s Neil Atkinson when asked about his options at No. 9 and No. 10.

“I think you’re talking about Alex Isak and Florian Wirtz, players who’ve been here already for a year.

“The first impressions when I’ve talked to them – by phone – is also that they want to have a good season, they want to start well.

“They were asking a lot of the right questions, they care about winning, they care about a lot things. That’s why they are good players.

I’m looking forward to working with them. I’ve watched them from the outside a lot, I know them a lot – especially Alex, [my teams] played against him in Spain also a lot.

“I’m sure they are very good players and I hope we can give them another platform so they can maximise their potential.”

As Atkinson pointed out, the two roles Wirtz and Isak occupy are crucial within Iraola’s system, but they are also markedly different to how they fit into Arne Slot‘s setup.

It appeared at times as though Slot struggled to grasp exactly how to use either player, and particularly Isak who failed to make an impact with so few touches of the ball.

Alexander Isak will need to learn Iraola’s pressing style

But Isak showed during the World Cup with Sweden that he can thrive as an all-round striker, including dropping deep to create chances along with leading the press from the front.

His ability to press will be central to any success under Iraola, as former Liverpool striker Dominic Solanke found in his sole campaign with the coach.

“It’s something that will need time. It took time with Bournemouth,” Iraola reflected.

“With Dom Solanke, he was a very good presser by himself. I only had him for one season; he was incredible.

“He scored a lot of goals, he was the first one to lead the press and was an incredible No. 9 for us.

“But it’s true, like he says, sometimes it’s a small details, the timing of things, everyone together.

“Sometimes you think ‘we’re going to press high’ and everyone says ‘we’re going to press high, we’re going to run’.

“It’s not about jumping from one [opponent to another], no, there has to be organisation, there has to be timing. It’s more complicated than that.

“You have to recognise when you have to go, when you have to stay, the timings, everyone has to work together.

“It just takes [one player to be] one second late and your press gets passed through and you have to recover.”