Victor Muñoz says Andoni Iraola's confidence and the way his team plays helped steer him to Liverpool, after a move that had been heading toward Newcastle. The forward joined from Osasuna in a reported £34.5 million deal, and said the switch came together fast. He is also managing a muscular injury, so the debut may not come immediately.

Iraola's pitch behind the move

Muñoz was asked directly about the change of plan and gave the credit to Iraola's approach. "He transmitted his confidence to me, the way his team plays… he played an important role in my decision," he said to standard.co.uk. He added: "It all happened very quickly." That is the real story here. Liverpool did not just win on timing, they won on how the football was sold.

The fee has also been reported as £34m in other coverage, which is the only real wrinkle in the deal story. The broader point is unchanged. Muñoz has described the move as a recruiter-manager win, with Newcastle left as the almost-club after a late hijack.

Injury and the wait for his first game

The signing does come with an immediate caveat. Muñoz said: "We were managing the injury, but I felt some discomfort again and we're trying to restart the process so I can get back on the pitch as soon as possible." Standard.co.uk reported that he has a muscular injury and will miss Spain's final group game against Uruguay this weekend.

There is a World Cup angle in the background too. Yan Diomande has already played 2 World Cup matches and is averaging 7.1, while Muñoz is listed with 0 World Cup appearances and a recent best club rating of 8.5. His last five club outings were 8.5, 7.3, 6.7, 7.3 and 6.9, which is a decent final run before the transfer but not a finished article in any sense.

Liverpool's wider attacking interest has not stopped with Muñoz either. Standard.co.uk reported that the club had an opening offer of €100m (£86.8m) rejected for Diomande, with RB Leipzig believed to want £112m. Jamie Carragher's line on the winger was that Liverpool would be buying potential and pace in wide areas, not a ready-made solution.

For now, though, Muñoz is the one who has already arrived. The next real checkpoint is not another transfer rumour, it is when he is fit enough to pull on a Liverpool shirt.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →