Bayer’s search for a new coach is nearing completion. The Bundesliga club is in concrete, final negotiations with Andoni Iraola of AFC Bournemouth and has thus apparently prevailed in the race against competition from AC Milan and Crystal Palace.
It has long been clear that Bayer 04 wants to start the upcoming season with a new coach. However, the actual move took some time after the last matchday. But the 2024 double winner is now on the verge of a real coup: According to reports, the team that finished sixth in the standings last season is in concrete final negotiations with Andoni Iraola of AFC Bournemouth, though the deal has not yet been finalized.
Iraola set a string of records at Bournemouth
The 43-year-old Spaniard set a new points record with Bournemouth in each of his three years at AFC and had recently gone unbeaten in 18 Premier League matches. As a result, AFC narrowly missed out on a Champions League spot while finishing sixth in the table.
As early as mid-April, reports had emerged of the club’s interest in the Spaniard, who, prior to his time at Bournemouth, had coached Rayo Vallecano in his home country—a team that lost 0-1 to Crystal Palace in Wednesday’s Conference League final.
Outbidding Milan and Palace?
If a deal is reached, Leverkusen would have prevailed over AC Milan and Crystal Palace, both of whom were vying for the Basque coach, who is currently considered one of the hottest prospects on the European coaching market.
With Iraola, Bayer would get a coach who relies on aggressive high-pressing and a fast, vertical style of play, although Bournemouth also achieved a considerable share of possession even against strong opponents.
Iraola comes from the same school as Xabi Alonso and Arteta
Since Iraola had already decided in the spring not to renew his expiring contract at Bournemouth, the Basque—who, like Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta and former Bayer coach Xabi Alonso, hails from the Antiguoko player and coaching academy in San Sebastian—can make the move on a free transfer.
In Leverkusen, he is set to succeed Kasper Hjulmand, who took over Bayer last season after Matchday 2 but must leave early despite having a contract through 2027, following a sixth-place finish in the league and a disappointing second half of the season.