Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola in president’s sights – Current manager ‘showing signs of fatigue’

Andoni Iraola is on Athletic Club’s radar should Ernesto Valverde decide to step down from the Spanish club.

That’s according to Sport, who say the Athletic coach is ‘showing signs of fatigue’. That’s led to rumours he could leave at the end of the current season.

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola is ‘admired’ by his former club. Their president, Jon Uriarte, ‘has him in his sights’. The major obstacle in his way is an €11m release clause in Iraola’s contract with Bournemouth. That deal does expire in June, though.

Marca go into a little more detail, looking at what might happen if Valverde decides to step aside at the end of the season.

He’s a legend at the club, to say the least, and as yet hasn’t spoken about his future. There’s no definite decision made as yet, but Athletic are looking at the possibility of it happening.

They want to be ahead of the issue and are looking at the options on the market. The Bournemouth manager would be one of those. He’s one of two who are ‘most frequently’ mentioned among the club’s fans. The other is Rayo Vallecano manager Iñigo Pérez.

They’re both former players with the club and have ‘notable track records’ with their current teams. They also have contracts expiring at the end of the season.

The feeling is that neither will be short of offers. The Bournemouth coach has already been linked with top jobs in the Premier League. Iñigo Pérez has also turned down Nottingham Forest.

They’re both on Athletic’s radar either way. The idea of Valverde departing is being floated, and the Spanish side have Bournemouth’s coach on a list of possible replacements.