Liverpool have been backed to appoint AFC Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola to replace current head coach Arne Slot for two reasons.

Pressure is mounting on Slot, who is quickly losing fan support as Liverpool have made a weak attempt at defending their Premier League title.

Slot has made Liverpoolincredibly tedious to watch, and they have also become ineffective in most positions, with the Premier League giants losing 4-0 to Manchester City on Saturday to exit the FA Cup.

Recent reports have indicated that club chiefs are keen to keep Slot, but his chances of having a long-term future at Liverpool are surely decreasing as fan clamour to appoint Xabi Alonso is not going away.

Slot presumably needs to win a trophy and/or qualify for the Champions League to keep his job, but recent performances suggest they will struggle to meet either target.

And talkSPORT presenter Adrian Durham thinks Liverpool could target Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola to replace Slot due to his links with Richards Hughes and his contract situation.

“There will definitely be a decision to be made,” Durham said on talkSPORT.

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“I reckon, with no inside track, that they will keep faith with him, because he’s got enough in the bank over what happened over the course of last season, that they would stick with him for the rest of this season.

“All that would matter is that they finish in the top five to make sure that they were playing Champions League football again next season.

“I think some of the people that you could imagine being his successor are already available. Some of those aren’t, Andoni Iraola for instance.

“Richard Hughes, Liverpool’s technical director, is a massive admirer. Brought him in at Bournemouth, he’s done nothing at Bournemouth that would mean his stock has dropped in any way.

“He’s out of contract in the summer, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he was one that they wanted to speak to, along with the likes of Xabi Alonso and everybody else.”

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Alternatively, Liverpool could sanction Steven Gerrard’s return at least on an interim basis, and pundit Tony Cascarino is in favour of this appointment.

“Absolutely, yeah,” Cascarino said when asked whether he would welcome Gerrard’s return as Liverpool manager.

“First of all, he’s got to tick the right boxes and has got to be good enough.

“I would hope one day that Steven Gerrard would become the Liverpool manager full-time, because Kenny [Dalglish] did it and did it brilliantly well.

“He did two stints and there’s always been a connection with the boot room at Liverpool and people involved.”

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