Andoni Iraola's Liverpool squad could look very different in 2026/27 with a number of high-profile players currently set to depart as things stand
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 9: Ronald Araujo of Liverpool and Andoni Iraola, Manager of Liverpool celebrate after winning the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD1 match between Liverpool FC and Atletico de Madrid at Anfield on September 9, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
Ronald Araujo and Andoni Iraola celebrate after Liverpool's Champions League win over Atletico Madrid at Anfield (Image: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
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After Wataru Endo was left as an unused substitute in Liverpool’s Carabao Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur, it did not take long to fuel further speculation about the former Japan international’s future.
The 33-year-old is yet to make an appearance under Andoni Iraola and was not named in the Reds’ Champions League squad at the start of the month. Out of contract at the end of the season, it would appear that the veteran has entered the final months of his Liverpool career.
Speaking last week, Iraola insisted Endo would be needed at times this season but conceded the Japanese faces stern competition for game-time.
"Wata lost quite a lot of the pre-season,” the new head coach explained. “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. He is competing against a lot of players.
"We are giving minutes to Trey, Ryan, Alexis and Dom, players that I am selecting right now. But Wata is definitely a player that I like and for sure he will have his moments."
Trey Nyoni and James McConnell were both called upon to start ahead of Endo against Tottenham, completing a midfield trio with Alexis Mac Allister, while Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch were then sent on ahead of the Japanese.
As is the case with Lewis Koumas seemingly leapfrogging Federico Chiesa in the Liverpool pecking order, it makes perfect sense for Iraola to favour the Reds’ young starlets and hand them minutes over fringe senior players.
Consequently, having found his gam -time also limited under former head coach Arne Slot, it would seem that Endo’s fortunes will not improve in the year ahead.
Set to turn 34 in February, the midfielder is currently set to leave on a free transfer when his contract expires at the end of the season. However, reports earlier this week suggested that Liverpool could look to sell him in January and take advantage of their final opportunity to receive a fee for the midfielder. Either way, a departure looks likely.
But Endo is only one of a number of players set to be out of contract at Anfield next summer, and with the Reds having already agreed deals to sign three players in 2027, welcoming back a number of loanees and with their latest crop of Under-21s players set to become overage players, Iraola’s squad could look rather different in 12 months time.
Out of contract
As it stands, Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker, Joe Gomez and Kostas Tsimikas are all out of contract next summer and set to depart Liverpool alongside Endo as free agents. Back-up goalkeeper Harvey Davies is also out of contract according to Transfermarkt, though that is not to say any of the hexet will not be offered new deals.
Ronald Araujo’s season-long loan move from Barcelona will have also expired, though the Reds’ possess a £47m purchase option on the Uruguayan.
New signings
It’s only September. Don’t expect us to start speculating on who Liverpool could sign next summer!
But you can have their first three deals of 2027 though. Djylian N’Guessan will officially become a Reds player in January after Liverpool agreed a €5m deal with Saint-Etienne for the forward.
The 18-year-old is currently on loan at Stade Brest though, and is scheduled to finish the season with the Ligue 1 side before officially moving to Anfield - even though he will officially become a Liverpool player in January.
Meanwhile, Lucca Brughmans will also link up with the Reds after Liverpool agreed a £30m deal with KRC Genk for the Belgian.
The goalkeeper is currently set to complete the season in Belgium, though the ECHO understands the Reds do have the option to bring the teenager to Anfield in January as part of the agreement.
Samuel Martinez will also join Liverpool from Atletico Nacional next year in a £750,000 deal after the Colombian playmaker celebrates his 18th birthday.
Elsewhere, Liverpool also possess a £55m option to re-sign Jarell Quansah from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2027, with the ECHO understanding the England centre-half has already agreed personal terms on an Anfield contract, should the Reds decide to exercise that option.
Returning loanees
Harvey Elliott will return to Liverpool next summer following the completion of a season-long loan at Valencia, with the playmaker’s current contract running until 2028.
Ifeanyi Ndukwe is now eligible for a work permit to play in England after making his debut for loan-club Levante. The Reds could recall the Austrian in January, otherwise he will complete the campaign at the La Liga outfit before returning to Merseyside.
Armin Pecsi and Kieran Morrison will also return from TSV Hartberg and Sheffield Wednesday respectively, though Calvin Ramsay will move on as a free agent at the end of the season with his temporary stint at St Mirren coinciding with the final year of his Liverpool contract.
Elsewhere, Calum Scanlon and Keyrol Figueroa and are currently on season-long loans at Cardiff City and Port Vale, while Amara Nallo, Kornel Misciur and Kyle Kelly are out on loan at HJK, Leek Town and Forest Green Rovers until the new year.
Meanwhile, Fabian Mrozek is currently on loan at FC Cincinnati, with the MLS side having an option to sign the Pole permanently.
Coming of age
Any player born before January 1, 2006 will have to be registered in Liverpool’s Premier League and European squads if the Reds wish to select them next season.
Consequently, Jeremy Jacquet, Lewis Koumas, Pecsi and Michael Laffey will no longer qualify as Under-21s players, with the same also being true of Scanlon and Kelly.
So, how is Liverpool’s squad shaping up…
Homegrown players
Conor Bradley, Elliott, James McConnell, Koumas, Vitezslav Jaros, Freddie Woodman and Jeremie Frimpong are all contracted to Liverpool next season and would count towards their homegrown quota. The first five would qualify as club-trained for European competition, with the latter pair classed as academy-trained.
Luke Chambers, Scanlon, Kaide Gordon, Isaac Mabaya, Owen Beck, Laffey and Kelly would also all need to be registered if still on the Reds’ books.
Gomez and Davies would leave as free agents as things stand, while Transfermarkt also claims both Chambers and Gordon are set to be out of contract.
Non-homegrown players
Liverpool currently fill all 17 non-homegrown spots for the 2026/27 season, though spaces are currently set to be freed up next summer with Van Dijk, Alisson, Endo and Tsimikas all out of contract.
Should the Reds not retain Araujo, his return to Barcelona would also free up a space.
Elsewhere, it would be a surprise if Chiesa did not move on. The Italian’s current contract runs until 2028, but he has never been more than a fringe player at Anfield.
Uncertainty about Mac Allister’s future also continues with the Argentina international recently speaking out about the club informing him they were not currently in a position to offer him a new contract.
Speculation about Cody Gakpo’s future will likely also arise after he nearly left Liverpool in the summer following interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City.
Giorgi Mamardashvili has also been linked with a move away.
While Ndukwe and Brughmans would still count as Under-21s players and not need to be registered for Premier League duty, the Reds would need to find space for the pair if they wished to select them in Europe with neither eligible for a place on List B.
If we limit speculation to out-of-contract players departing and Liverpool signing Araujo permanently, they would possess 15 senior non-homegrown players with Jacquet and Pecsi no longer qualifying as Under-21s players.
Ndukwe and Brughmans could then hypothetically occupy the final two berths in the Reds’ European squad.
But clearly they will be more to Liverpool’s incoming and outgoing business next summer, with plenty still to be decided in the months ahead. Rest assured, Iraola's squad for the 2026/27 will look rather different to the currently contracted list as things stand.
Potential Liverpool 2026/27 squad as things stand…
Goalkeepers: Mardashvili, Woodman (HG), Jaros (HG), Pecsi, Brughmans (U21)*.
Defenders: Jacquet, Kerkez, Bradley (HG), Leoni (U21), Frimpong (HG), Araujo, Scanlon (HG), Beck (HG), Ndukwe (U21)*.
Midfielders: Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Elliott (HG), Gravenberch, Nyoni (U21), McConnell (HG).
Forwards: Isak, Chiesa, Gakpo, Ekitike, Munoz, Barcola, Koumas (HG), Morrison (U21), Ngumoha (U21), Danns (U21), N’Guessan (U21).