Liverpool has plenty of work left to do in the transfer market this summer, with sporting director Richard Hughes set for a busy final three weeks or so of the window
PSG duo Ibrahim Mbaye and Bradley Barcola.
PSG duo Ibrahim Mbaye and Bradley Barcola.(Image: FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images)
Liverpool knows that it has work to do in the transfer market, and there are only 25 days left until the deadline. But, as ever, there are plenty of moving parts at play.
Bradley Barcola, of course, is a major target, while other stars are also being considered. Earlier this week, it emerged that Ibrahim Mbaye was an option being looked at to bolster the attack, while a versatile defender would make a substantial difference with that section of the roster currently looking threadbare.
But Premier League rules mean that, as things stand, without making a sale or excluding a player from its squad list, Liverpool can only make one more senior signing before it reaches the maximum 17 non-homegrown players that would be allowed in its 25-man Premier League squad.
The likes of Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott, who are homegrown, do not have to count towards the limit.
The Reds' 16 non-homegrown players, as it stands, are: Alisson Becker, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Virgil van Dijk, Kostas Tsimikas, Milos Kerkez, Wataru Endo, Florian Wirtz, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo, Federico Chiesa, Calvin Ramsay, Hugo Ekitike, and new signing Victor Munoz.
Rio Ngumoha, Trey Nyoni, and Jeremy Jacquet are among those who do not need to be registered because they were born after January 1, 2005, and are therefore under 21.
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - JULY 25: Andoni Iraola head coach of Liverpool speaks with his players during the first half of the pre-season friendly match between Liverpool FC and Sunderland AFC at GEODIS Park on July 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Bill Barrett/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
Andoni Iraola will lead Liverpool into the new season(Image: Getty Images)
Players like Stefan Bajcetic count as homegrown because they were registered to Liverpool for three entire seasons, or 36 months, before their 21st birthday, or the end of the season during which they turn 21.
Someone like Giovanni Leoni, for instance, will become homegrown after three seasons because they arrived early enough.
So what does that mean in terms of more deals right now? In order to sign, say, Barcola, Mbaye and a non-homegrown, non-U21 defender, Liverpool would have to either sell or de-register one player on the list.
Calvin Ramsay could leave should another defender arrive, while several stars, including Virgil van Dijk and Kostas Tsimikas, are currently set to be out of contract next summer, at which point more spaces will open up.
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Mbaye, who does not turn 19 until halfway through the coming season, would be able to come in without filling up the quota any further. Like Leoni, he would do three seasons and become homegrown at that point because he is young enough.
Barcola, because he is older, would have to be registered immediately and could take the final spot.
Adding five or six more players would be difficult in terms of the rules, but also in terms of the ticking clock. That has never been realistic or necessary anyway.
But getting the work that Liverpool needs to be done in order to compete again completed should be more than possible. Before the September 1 deadline, more arrivals are a must.