Liverpool's 25-Man Premier League Squad Explained

Liverpool’s official 25-man squad for the 2026-27 Premier League season dropped on Thursday – and immediately sparked confusion.

Three names that many supporters expected to see were nowhere to be found: Jeremy Jacquet, Rio Ngumoha, and Giovanni Leoni.

They have not been sold. They are not frozen out. They are not ineligible.

They are simply too young to need registering.

Barcola headlines a leaner Liverpool squad

Liverpool head into the new campaign with a streamlined senior group after a summer that saw more departures than arrivals. The headline signing came late: Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain in a blockbuster $166 million move.

The French winger is in line to make his debut as early as Friday night away at Ipswich Town, thrown straight into Andoni Iraola’s first Premier League squad list as Liverpool head coach.

The club confirmed the 25 players registered for the first half of the season, a group locked in until the January transfer window opens. The list 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 Jacquet. No Ngumoha. No Leoni. Social media did the rest, with questions flying about injuries, eligibility, and late transfer drama.

The reality is far calmer – and rooted firmly in Premier League regulations.

Why Jacquet, Ngumoha and Leoni are missing

League rules allow each club to register a maximum of 25 senior players, of which no more than 17 can be classed as non-homegrown. Crucially, U21 players do not need to be included in that 25-man list to play in the competition.

To qualify as homegrown, a player must have been registered with any club in England or Wales for three full seasons, or 36 months, before turning 21. That can be continuous or broken up, and it can include the season in which they turn 21.

On top of that, any player registered as U21 – born on or after January 1, 2005 – can feature in the league without being named in the senior squad.

That is where Liverpool’s missing trio come in.

Jacquet, the oldest of the three, was born on July 13, 2005. Ngumoha and Leoni are both still teenagers. All three fall comfortably into the U21 category, so they are automatically eligible to play without taking up a slot in Iraola’s 25-man group.

Jacquet and Ngumoha have already been involved this season, underlining their place in Iraola’s plans. Leoni, highly rated inside the club, has been sidelined but remains part of the picture once fit.

Liverpool have effectively used the rules to keep their senior list tight while still retaining access to a promising young core.

Injury picture: Gomez closest, Leoni to follow

Leoni’s name did come up for another reason this week – his fitness.

He is one of three Liverpool players currently out injured, alongside Joe Gomez and Federico Chiesa. Speaking before the trip to Ipswich, Iraola offered a clear update on the trio.

“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 while Leoni’s absence from the squad list raised eyebrows, the more relevant detail is his recovery timeline. Once he returns to full training, he can step straight into Premier League action without any registration issues.

Liverpool’s paperwork is done. The squad is set on paper. But with Barcola arriving, Gomez nearing a comeback, and a trio of U21 talents ready to step in at any moment, Iraola’s real options look far deeper than a simple list of 25 names suggests.