Liverpool’s 2026/27 Squad Transformation Under Iraola

Andoni Iraola hasn’t been at Liverpool long, but the outlines of his revolution are already visible. By the time the 2026/27 season kicks off, the squad around him could look almost unrecognisable.

Some big names are running down their deals. Others are waiting in the wings or already signed for the future. And a 33-year-old midfielder who barely gets on the pitch has become the clearest symbol of what’s coming next.

Endo on the Outside

Wataru Endo watched Liverpool’s Carabao Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur from the bench. He stayed there. He has yet to play a single minute under Iraola and was left out of the Champions League squad entirely.

He turns 34 in February. His contract expires at the end of the season. All signs point one way.

Iraola has tried to keep the door open in public.

“Wata lost quite a lot of the pre-season,” he said. “He is still not at his best but he is training very well. The problem is in front of him in his position I have a lot of players.”

And that’s the reality. Against Spurs, Trey Nyoni and James McConnell both started ahead of him, alongside Alexis Mac Allister. When Iraola turned to his bench, he called for Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch, not Endo.

The pattern is clear. Young legs, long-term pieces, players who fit the next Liverpool. Not fringe veterans on expiring deals.

Endo already saw his minutes squeezed under Arne Slot. Under Iraola, the squeeze has become a choke. Reports this week suggested Liverpool could even look to cash in during January rather than let him walk for nothing. Whether he goes mid-season or in June, the outcome looks the same: an exit.

And he won’t be alone.

Heavyweights Heading for the Exit?

As things stand, some of the most established names at Anfield are out of contract next summer.

Virgil van Dijk.
Alisson Becker.
Joe Gomez.
Kostas Tsimikas.
Endo.

Back-up goalkeeper Harvey Davies is also listed as out of contract. That doesn’t automatically mean all of them will leave, but it does underline how delicate this moment is for Liverpool’s squad planning.

Ronald Araujo’s loan from Barcelona is also due to end at the close of the season. Liverpool hold a £47m option to buy the Uruguay international. Keep him, and he becomes a cornerstone of the new defence. Let him go, and another senior slot opens up.

Either way, the shape of the dressing room is going to shift.

Future Deals Already Locked In

Liverpool might be coy about who they’ll chase next summer, but some of their 2027 business is already done.

Djylian N’Guessan is the first piece. The club agreed a €5m deal with Saint-Etienne for the forward, who will officially become a Liverpool player in January. For now, the 18-year-old stays at Stade Brest on loan, finishing his Ligue 1 season before he actually walks through the doors at Anfield.

Then there is Lucca Brughmans. Liverpool have struck a £30m agreement with KRC Genk for the teenage goalkeeper. He is scheduled to remain in Belgium until the end of the campaign, though the club do have an option to bring him over in January if they want to accelerate his integration.

Samuel Martinez is another name for the future. The Colombian playmaker will arrive from Atletico Nacional next year in a £750,000 move once he turns 18.

There’s also a familiar possibility on the horizon. Liverpool hold a £55m option to re-sign Jarell Quansah from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2027. The ECHO understands the England centre-back has already agreed personal terms on a return, should the Reds trigger that clause. The decision now sits with Liverpool.

Loanees Lining Up to Return

While new signings are lined up, a wave of loanees is also due back at Kirkby and Anfield.

Harvey Elliott is the headline name. On loan at Valencia for the season, he is under contract at Liverpool until 2028 and is expected back next summer with more La Liga experience under his belt.

Ifeanyi Ndukwe has quietly hit an important milestone. After making his debut for Levante, he now qualifies for a work permit in England. Liverpool could recall the Austrian defender in January; if not, he will see out the season in Spain before returning.

Armin Pecsi and Kieran Morrison are also due back from TSV Hartberg and Sheffield Wednesday respectively. Calvin Ramsay, though, is set to move on. His loan at St Mirren runs alongside the final year of his Liverpool deal, meaning he will leave as a free agent at the end of the season.

Calum Scanlon and Keyrol Figueroa are spending the year at Cardiff City and Port Vale, while Amara Nallo, Kornel Misciur and Kyle Kelly are out at HJK, Leek Town and Forest Green Rovers until January.

Goalkeeper Fabian Mrozek is with FC Cincinnati, where the MLS club hold an option to make his move permanent. That decision could remove another young stopper from Liverpool’s longer-term picture.

Kids Becoming Adults in Registration Terms

Next season brings another quiet but crucial change. Any player born before January 1, 2006 will have to be registered in Liverpool’s Premier League and European squads if they are to feature.

That means Jeremy Jacquet, Lewis Koumas, Pecsi and Michael Laffey will no longer count as Under-21s. The same goes for Scanlon and Kelly. They will all occupy senior registration slots if they stay.

For a club trying to juggle homegrown quotas, non-homegrown limits and a new generation of talent, those details matter.

The Homegrown Core

The homegrown picture for 2026/27 looks strong on paper.

Conor Bradley, Elliott, McConnell, Koumas, Vitezslav Jaros, Freddie Woodman and Jeremie Frimpong are all under contract and would count towards the homegrown quota.
Bradley, Elliott, McConnell, Koumas and Jaros would qualify as club-trained for European competition, with Woodman and Frimpong classed as academy-trained.
Luke Chambers, Scanlon, Kaide Gordon, Isaac Mabaya, Owen Beck, Laffey and Kelly would also need to be registered if they remain on the books.

As it stands, Gomez and Davies are set to leave as free agents. Transfermarkt also lists Chambers and Gordon as out of contract, another potential thinning of the English and club-developed contingent if new deals don’t arrive.

Non-Homegrown Squeeze

Liverpool currently occupy all 17 non-homegrown slots for the 2026/27 campaign. That logjam should ease next summer.

Van Dijk, Alisson, Endo and Tsimikas are all out of contract. If none are renewed, four non-homegrown places open up. If Araujo returns to Barcelona rather than staying permanently, that would be another.

Then there are the likely movers.

Federico Chiesa’s situation looks particularly stark. His contract runs until 2028, but he has never been more than a bit-part option at Anfield. A departure would surprise nobody.

Questions also hang over Mac Allister. The Argentina international recently revealed the club had told him they were not currently in a position to offer him a new contract. That uncertainty will not go away quickly.

Cody Gakpo’s name will also resurface. He almost left in the summer after serious interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. Another window, another round of speculation.

Giorgi Mamardashvili has been linked with a move away too. For a squad that once felt settled, the list of possible exits is growing.

Ndukwe and Brughmans, despite their profiles, would still be classed as Under-21s and wouldn’t need Premier League registration. But if Liverpool want to use them in Europe, they would need List A places because neither qualifies for List B.

If we strip the picture back and assume only out-of-contract players depart and Liverpool buy Araujo, they would have 15 senior non-homegrown players. Jacquet and Pecsi, no longer Under-21s, would be part of that senior pool. Ndukwe and Brughmans could then logically fill the final two European berths.

That’s the conservative version. Reality will almost certainly be busier.

The Skeleton of a 2026/27 Squad

On paper, and with all the above assumptions, Liverpool’s 2026/27 group might look something like this:

Goalkeepers: Giorgi Mamardashvili, Freddie Woodman (HG), Vitezslav Jaros (HG), Armin Pecsi, Lucca Brughmans (U21)*.
Defenders: Jeremy Jacquet, Milos Kerkez, Conor Bradley (HG), Leoni (U21), Jeremie Frimpong (HG), Ronald Araujo, Calum Scanlon (HG), Owen Beck (HG), Ifeanyi Ndukwe (U21)*.
Midfielders: Florian Wirtz, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Harvey Elliott (HG), Ryan Gravenberch, Trey Nyoni (U21), James McConnell (HG).

It is only a snapshot based on contracts, clauses and current loans. Transfers will reshape it. Renewals will tweak it. Departures will tear up parts of it.

But the direction is unmistakable. Younger, faster, more flexible, with a heavy emphasis on emerging talent and smart pre-planned deals.

The question now is not whether Iraola’s Liverpool will look different by 2026/27. It’s how ruthless the club is prepared to be with its present to get to that future.