Liverpool Names 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 highly rated youngsters, Jeremy Jacquet, Rio Ngumoha, and Giovanni Leoni, were nowhere to be seen.
They haven’t vanished. They just don’t need to be on the list.
With the transfer window closed and Bradley Barcola finally through the door from Paris Saint-Germain in a $166 million deal, Andoni Iraola now knows exactly what he has to work with until January. Barcola could feature as early as Friday night at Ipswich Town, a potential debut that adds another jolt of excitement to an already intriguing new-look Liverpool.
The 25 who made it
Liverpool’s squad submission 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.
A leaner summer of business, with more departures than arrivals, meant Iraola didn’t face the usual late scramble to squeeze big names into limited spots. The real talking point came from those left off the document.
Why Jacquet, Ngumoha, and Leoni aren’t listed
When fans noticed Jacquet, Ngumoha, and Leoni missing, the immediate questions followed: injuries? Loans? A registration issue?
None of the above.
All three are classified as U21 players under Premier League rules, so they do not need to be registered in the 25-man squad to be eligible. They can still play in the league this season.
The regulations are clear. Each club can register up to 25 players, with a maximum of 17 who do not meet the ‘homegrown’ criteria. The rest must be homegrown, defined as having been registered with any club in England or Wales for three full seasons, or 36 months, before turning 21, even if that period is not continuous.
On top of that, U21 players are exempt from the 25-man limit. For this season, that applies to anyone born on or after January 1, 2005.
Jacquet, born July 13, 2005, just sneaks into that bracket. Ngumoha and Leoni are even younger, both still teenagers. All three therefore sit outside the formal squad list but inside Iraola’s plans.
Jacquet and Ngumoha have already featured this season, proof that the paperwork doesn’t reflect their standing. Leoni, though, is currently sidelined.
Injury picture: Gomez closest, Leoni and Chiesa to follow
Leoni is one of three Liverpool players out injured, alongside Joe Gomez and Federico Chiesa. Iraola offered a clear update ahead of the trip to Ipswich.
“The closest one is Joe,” he said. “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.”
So the picture is simple. The headline names are locked into the 25. The kids, including Jacquet, Ngumoha, and Leoni, remain fully available outside it. And as the season starts to bite, with injuries and form inevitably reshaping the pecking order, those U21 slots could end up defining how far Iraola’s first Liverpool campaign can really go.
