Why Liverpool Star Thinks Two Kids ‘Deserve to Play’ in $490 Million Attack

Dominik Szoboszlai was not alone in hailing the performances of Lewis Koumas and James McConnell for Liverpool against Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday evening, going so far as to claim that the pair of youngsters “deserve to play” regularly for this expensively assembled Reds team.

Neither Koumas, 20, nor McConnell, 22, have ever made a Premier League start for Liverpool but bounded into the Carabao Cup third-round tie at Anfield with the exact type of infectious energy which Andoni Iraola has been pining after this season.

Liverpool’s incoming manager made 10 changes to the side which labored to a tired goalless draw with Fulham on Saturday afternoon, notably resting Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Bradley Barcola, a trio which has cost north of $490 million over the past year.

James McConnell running. — James McConnell was played out of position on Tuesday but still caught the eye. | Michael Regan/Getty Images

Iraola has pleaded for more urgency and energy from his frontline during a painful transition period toward a deliberately transitional style. Koumas and McConnell, who started as the mobile central duo in a 4-2-3-1, delivered in that sense.

“They both did a really good job,” Szoboszlai gushed to Sky Sports after the 2–1 win. “Koumas with his timing and McConnell with his running ability. Both of them deserve to play. They both played very well. And now they will make it really hard for the gaffer.”

The gaffer in question has been heaping praise on Koumas since preseason. “I said in the week and say it for a reason, I see it in training every day,” Iraola beamed on Tuesday. “The energy he shows is contagious for the rest. When they see the ones up front doing it, they are forced to go from behind.”

Liverpool Come Closest to Iraola’s Ideal Against Tottenham

Cody Gakpo celebrating with his teammates. — Cody Gakpo (right) scored a fine goal to double Liverpool’s lead. | Peter Byrne/PA Images/Getty Images

While McConnell was played in a slightly more advanced midfield role to which he is normally accustomed, Koumas caught the eye as the one-man swarm at the tip of an attack which was much sharper off the ball.

Liverpool won possession in the final third eight times against Spurs—double their average in the Premier League thus far this season.

Against Fulham, Iraola pointed toward this blunt press as the reason for his team’s distinct lack of threat. “We were recovering the ball always very low and when that happens you have to attack against 11 players and that makes it more difficult to make the difference,” Iraola fretted. “We need to recover the ball as high as possible because it makes the offensive side a lot easier, and we have more situations to attack in one vs. one.”

Iraola has made it abundantly clear that the job of pressing falls upon the shoulders of his forwards. “If the ones up front do their job very well then the defenders and midfielders look good,” he bluntly explained. “If the players ahead of you are doing their job then you look a better midfielder or defender because you win more easier duels, you have more chance of winning one. It is more collective.”

Liverpool return to Iraola’s former team Bournemouth on Sunday in a poignant contest. The Basque boss spent three seasons crafting the Cherries in his own image of relentlessness. By the end of his final campaign on the south coast, Bournemouth ranked third in the Premier League for total high turnovers and turnovers which led to a shot.

It famously took Iraola two-and-a-half months to register his first Premier League win at the Cherries, let alone implement his deliberately chaotic style of play. Iraola is all too well aware that he won’t be afforded the same luxury at Liverpool but leaning upon players more naturally suited to this approach could smooth the transition.

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