1. Iraola 'very confident' in his Liverpool squadAndoni Iraola believes it would be a mistake to underestimate Liverpool this season given the talent at his disposal and the likelihood of more to come before the transfer deadline.Liverpool were widely considered favourites to retain the Premier League title 12 months ago only for Arne Slot to lose his job after a fifth-placed finish on the back of a dour campaign. That regression, coupled with the continued search for two wide forwards this summer, has raised questions over Liverpool’s potential in Iraola’s debut season at Anfield.The new head coach has declined to set targets but insists the quality that exists within the Liverpool squad has fuelled his confidence for what lies ahead. That belief will increase should the club’s pursuit of Bradley Barcola, his Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Ibrahim Mbaye, Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh or other wingers on their shortlist come to fruition. Liverpool have seen their latest bid for the Gambian star – a £60m offer – rejected by the Seagulls.Iraola, who has appointed Dominik Szoboszlai as one of Liverpool’s vice-captains, said: “Yes [it would be a mistake to underestimate his team]. I can feel that a little bit because of the questions I’m asked. We have to value the good players we have in this building. Sometimes the players are here for three, four, five seasons and we are not aware how good some of our players are. I know this is the situation.“The market is not closed, we still have time to add more players, and probably I have the advantage that I am coming in new and I value a lot of the players I have here that are new to me. I can tell you that I am very confident in terms of the quality of the players we have.“A bit of this negativity is probably about the fact we have a tricky situation with long-term injuries. We have some very good players who had big surgeries and if we had those players available then it probably puts your squad in a much better place. We have to go through this period until they are fully fit. We knew the impact it would have from the beginning and I hope we can deal with this period.”Alexander Isak faces a hostile reception when he returns to Newcastle on Sunday for the first time since his acrimonious departure last summer. Photograph: Michael Miller/ISI Photos/Getty ImagesOne player with huge room for improvement on last season is Alexander Isak, who faces a hostile reception when he returns to Newcastle on Sunday for the first time since his acrimonious departure last summer. “It is a massive season for Alexander,” Iraola said. “He knows at the end it is [about] two things: the first is availability, and without availability we cannot have the second thing which is the performance level. I have no doubts about his level.“I think he’s quite a unique No 9 in terms of he can come to receive and be technically very clean, and he can also be very good attacking the space. Sometimes you get one thing or the other, like a player who comes to link up play and sets the others, or a player who is just quick and attacks the spaces, but he can do both. Also, my biggest fight [in pre-season] has been about our press, how to position, how to help the players that he has behind, and he is willing to do it and to understand. He has improved with every friendly we’ve played.”Curtis Jones has completed his move to Inter Milan. The deal is worth €30m plus €5m in add-ons with a 10% sell-on fee. Andy Hunter2. Emery accepts Watkins may join Villa exodusUnai Emery has claimed Aston Villa are paying the “consequences” for unprecedented success after conceding Ollie Watkins could join the summer exodus, despite the club rejecting another bid for him from Al-Hilal.