Liverpool have named a 22-man squad for the first half of the Premier League season and it could impact their January transfer business
Liverpool have named a 22-man Premier League squad, but that doesn’t mean they are free to sign three new players willy-nilly in the January transfer window.
While allowed to name a maximum 25-man squad if complying with homegrown rules, the Reds have registered all 22 of their senior players born before January 1, 2002. This includes academy players Paul Glatzel and Vitezslav Jaros, along with veteran goalkeeper Adrian
Each squad must contain no more than 17 players who do not fulfil the league’s ‘homegrown’ criteria, with Liverpool boasting 16 such players. However, with UEFA’s rules varying to the Premier League, summer signing Ryan Gravenberch and highly-rated youngster Ben Doak, who are classified as Under-21s players in the English top-flight, need to be registered to feature in the Europa League this season.
As a result, the Reds technically boast 18 overseas players, with Adrian having to be left out of the Europa League squad to make room for the pair. Consequently, if Liverpool wish to sign any players who don’t qualify as homegrown in January, they would need to sell or drop one of their current quota to make room for any such signings.
They can sidestep such an issue in the Premier League by signing an Under-21s player, like Gravenberch. But while such a player would then be eligible to feature in domestic league matches, Klopp would still need to drop a player to make room for them in his Europa League squad
Meanwhile, Liverpool currently boast six homegrown players with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Curtis Jones and Caoimhin Kelleher making up that quota along with Glatzel and Jaros.
Considering Glatzel and Jaros have never played for the club and remain way down the pecking order, the Reds could remove either player from their squad in January to help make room for new signings.
But even though that would leave Klopp with a 20-man squad, that would still limit Liverpool to only being able to sign players who qualify as homegrown in January, without having to sell or drop any senior players, to complete his squad.
The Reds have been active in January in each of the last four seasons, and five of the last six, signing Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz, Ozan Kabak, Ben Davies, Takumi Minamino and Virgil van Dijk. And having failed to sign a new centre-back in the summer, Liverpool could look to strengthen the position again in mid-season.
Meanwhile, with speculation ongoing regarding the futures of the likes of Mohamed Salah and Thiago Alcantara, it’s possible the Reds look to strengthen their attacking or midfield ranks with a long-term replacement for either player. Brazil international Andre Trindade is one such player, with Fluminense already confirming they will be open to selling the Liverpool target in the new year.
But if Klopp does wish to add to his squad in January, then Liverpool will be limited to signing homegrown players unless they are happy to sell or leave out any overseas players (or Under-21s players from their Europa League squad) to make room for new recruits.
Leave a Reply