Liverpool's 25-Man Premier League Squad for 2026-27 Season
Liverpool’s official 25-man Premier League squad for the 2026-27 season dropped on Thursday – and immediately sparked confusion.
Three names many supporters expected to see were nowhere to be found. No Jeremy Jacquet. No Rio Ngumoha. No Giovanni Leoni.
For a few hours, social media did the rest: injury fears, registration worries, even wild talk of late moves. None of it true.
The simple reason? All three are classed as U21 players and do not need to be included on the senior list to feature in the league.
Barcola headlines a streamlined squad
Liverpool head into the new campaign with a leaner group after a summer that saw more departures than arrivals, easing Andoni Iraola’s job when it came to trimming his options down to 25.
The headline signing is clear. Bradley Barcola, brought in from Paris Saint-Germain in a $166 million deal, is in the squad and could make his debut as early as Friday night away to Ipswich Town. The French winger arrives as the marquee attacking addition and walks straight into a group that has been largely locked in since early in the window.
The official list submitted to the Premier League reads:
Ronald Araujo, Bradley Barcola, Alisson Becker, Conor Bradley, Luke Chambers, Federico Chiesa, Hugo Ekitike, Wataru Endo, Jeremie Frimpong, Cody Gakpo, Joe Gomez, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexander Isak, Vitezslav Jaros, Milos Kerkez, Isaac Mabaya, Alexis Mac Allister, Giorgi Mamardashvili, James McConnell, Victor Munoz, Dominik Szoboszlai, Kostas Tsimikas, Virgil van Dijk, Florian Wirtz, Freddie Woodman.
No more changes can be made until the January window opens. This is the senior core Iraola will live with until the turn of the year.
Why Jacquet, Ngumoha and Leoni are missing – and still available
The omission of Jacquet, Ngumoha and Leoni raised eyebrows precisely because all three have been part of Liverpool’s plans.
Jacquet and Ngumoha have already featured this season, while Leoni is firmly in the club’s long-term thinking despite currently being sidelined.
Under Premier League rules, though, they do not have to be registered in the 25-man group to play.
The regulations state that each club can name no more than 17 players who are not “homegrown”. The rest of the squad, up to a maximum of 25, must be homegrown – defined as players registered with any club in England or Wales for three full seasons or 36 months before their 21st birthday, or across the period in which they turn 21.
Crucially, U21 players sit outside that framework entirely. Anyone born on or after January 1, 2005 can be registered separately as an U21 player and is eligible to play in the Premier League without being listed in the main 25.
Jacquet, born July 13, 2005, falls into that category. Ngumoha and Leoni are even younger. All three qualify as U21, all three can be selected by Iraola at any point, and none of them needed to take up a valuable senior slot.
So while their absence from the document drew concern, it has no impact on their availability once fit and selected.
Injury picture: Gomez closest, Leoni and Chiesa to follow
Leoni’s name did appear this week, but only in the context of Liverpool’s injury list.
The defender is one of three players currently out, alongside Joe Gomez and Federico Chiesa. Speaking ahead of the trip to Ipswich, Iraola outlined where each of them stands.
“The closest one is Joe,” he said when asked about the trio. “Joe will probably start training with us next week.
“He’s had a normal recovery from a muscle injury, more or less. We were expecting the time on this. I hope we can have him before the break, let’s say.
“The next one probably should be Giovanni Leoni. I think the plan is also to start training during the break, with the group, I think even Fede should be around those dates.”
Gomez, then Leoni, then Chiesa. Three important pieces moving back towards contention as Liverpool settle into the season with a defined 25-man core – and a hungry group of U21s, Jacquet, Ngumoha and Leoni among them, waiting to make their mark.
