Iraola Includes Ekitike, Excludes Chiesa and Endo from Liverpool Champions League Squad
Andoni Iraola has made his call. Hugo Ekitike is in. Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo are out.
Liverpool’s manager has named his 25-man squad for the Champions League League Phase, and it contains one big show of faith and two brutal realities.
Ekitike Back in the Picture
Ekitike has not kicked a ball for Liverpool since rupturing his Achilles tendon in April. The injury cut short his season and left a sizeable hole in the squad. Surgery followed, then the long, lonely road of rehab.
Liverpool’s official line, as of September 3, is clear: there is no set timeframe for his return. No countdown. No circled date on the calendar.
Iraola has effectively drawn one for him.
By registering the France international striker for Europe, the Basque coach is betting that Ekitike will be ready to contribute at some stage in the League Phase. Liverpool’s final group fixture comes against RC Lens at Anfield on January 27. His inclusion strongly hints that the club believe he could be available by then, at least in some capacity.
It is a calculated risk. A Champions League place is precious, and Iraola has chosen to spend one on a player still working his way back to full fitness. That tells its own story about how highly he rates Ekitike’s potential impact once he returns.
Chiesa and Endo Left Out in the Cold
The flip side of that decision lands hard on two senior players.
Federico Chiesa, a marquee name and a winger of genuine pedigree, has been omitted. He is currently sidelined with injury but is expected to return to training after the September international break. Under different circumstances, that timeline might have been enough to secure his place.
Not this time.
Iraola has decided that even with Chiesa on the mend, there is no room for him in Europe. It underlines how far down the pecking order the Italian has slipped and raises sharp questions about his role for the rest of the season.
Then there is Wataru Endo. Fit. Available. And still left out.
This is not about medical updates or recovery schedules. It is about selection. Iraola simply does not see the Japan international as part of his Champions League core. With midfield competition fierce, Endo’s exclusion is a stark message about where he stands.
The consequences are obvious. If they are not trusted for Europe, both Chiesa and Endo are unlikely to see much action in domestic competitions either. Their futures at Anfield look increasingly fragile.
Carragher’s Warning Rings True
Jamie Carragher saw this coming.
Speaking on The Overlap, the former Liverpool defender did not sugarcoat his view of the situation: “Liverpool have got two players in the squad who are never going to play,” he said. “They have got Chiesa and Endo. It’s like they are never going to kick a ball.”
He went even further on Endo, arguing the club should already have moved him on, even while acknowledging the midfielder’s popularity: “He has done great, a bit of a cult hero.”
Those comments sounded harsh at the time. Iraola’s Champions League list has now given them weight. Two senior professionals, both international players, stand on the outside looking in while a long-term injury absentee is backed to make it back in time.
Ekitike’s name on that squad sheet is a nod to the future. Chiesa and Endo’s absence feels like the beginning of the end.
