Liverpool's 2026/27 Squad Transformation: Key Changes Ahead

Andoni Iraola has barely settled into the Liverpool dugout, but the shape of his 2026/27 squad is already being pulled in different directions by expiring contracts, looming transfer calls and a wave of teenagers pushing at the door.

Some of the biggest names at Anfield are heading towards the cliff edge of their deals. Others are already on the way in. The result? A squad that could look unrecognisable in 12 months’ time.

Endo on the Outside

Wataru Endo’s situation tells the story of a changing Liverpool.

Unused in the Carabao Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur, left out of the Champions League squad, and out of contract at the end of the season, the 33-year-old is drifting towards the exit.

Iraola has been respectful, but blunt.

“Wata lost quite a lot of the pre-season,” he said last week. “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.”

Those “moments” are yet to arrive. Against Spurs, Trey Nyoni and James McConnell both started ahead of him, joining Alexis Mac Allister in midfield. Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch then came off the bench before the former Japan international was even considered.

It mirrors what is happening further forward, where Lewis Koumas appears to have jumped ahead of Federico Chiesa in Iraola’s thinking. Youth is being trusted. Fringe seniors are being squeezed.

Endo, who also found opportunities limited under Arne Slot, turns 34 in February. As things stand, he leaves on a free in the summer. Recent reports suggest Liverpool could even cash in during January to bank a final fee. Either way, the direction of travel is clear.

And he is far from alone.

Heavyweights Heading for the Final Year

Right now, Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker, Joe Gomez and Kostas Tsimikas are all out of contract next summer. So is back-up goalkeeper Harvey Davies, according to Transfermarkt.

There is no guarantee all five senior players, plus Endo, walk away. New contracts could yet be put on the table. But until pen hits paper, Liverpool are staring at the possibility of losing their captain, their first-choice goalkeeper, a long-serving defender and their deputy left-back in one hit.

Ronald Araujo’s situation adds another layer. His season-long loan from Barcelona expires at the end of the campaign, though Liverpool hold a £47m option to buy the Uruguay international permanently. Keep him, and a cornerstone of the next back line is in place. Let him go, and another defensive slot reopens.

This is not just a refresh. It could be a reset.

The 2027 Deals Already Done

While the club keeps quiet on who might arrive next summer, some of the 2027 business is already locked in.

Djylian N’Guessan will officially become a Liverpool player in January after a €5m agreement with Saint-Etienne. The forward, however, is on loan at Stade Brest and is scheduled to see out the season in Ligue 1 before physically linking up with Iraola’s squad.

Lucca Brughmans is also on the way. Liverpool have agreed a £30m deal with KRC Genk for the Belgian goalkeeper. He is due to complete the campaign in Belgium, though the club do have the option to bring the teenager to Anfield in January if they choose.

From South America, Samuel Martinez will join from Atletico Nacional in a £750,000 deal once he turns 18 next year, adding another creative profile to the long-term plan.

There is also a major decision parked for 2027. Liverpool hold a £55m option to re-sign Jarell Quansah from Bayer Leverkusen. The ECHO understands the England centre-half has already agreed personal terms on an Anfield contract, should the Reds trigger that clause. The pathway back is there if they want it.

The Loan Carousel

Next summer, the revolving door will spin again.

Harvey Elliott is due back from a season-long loan at Valencia, with his Liverpool contract running until 2028. He is the headline name among the returning group.

Ifeanyi Ndukwe has now made his debut for Levante and is eligible for a work permit in England. Liverpool could recall the Austrian defender in January, or leave him in La Liga until the end of the campaign before bringing him to Merseyside.

Armin Pecsi and Kieran Morrison are also due back from TSV Hartberg and Sheffield Wednesday respectively. Calvin Ramsay, though, will move on as a free agent when his deal expires, with his loan at St Mirren aligned to the final year of his Liverpool contract.

Elsewhere, Calum Scanlon and Keyrol Figueroa are on season-long loans at Cardiff City and Port Vale. Amara Nallo, Kornel Misciur and Kyle Kelly are at HJK, Leek Town and Forest Green Rovers until the new year.

Fabian Mrozek is currently with FC Cincinnati, who hold an option to sign the Polish goalkeeper permanently. Another fork in the road.

Kids Who No Longer Count as Kids

The rules are changing for some of the academy faces too.

From next season, any player born before January 1, 2006 must be registered in Liverpool’s Premier League and European squads if they are to feature.

Jeremy Jacquet, Lewis Koumas, Pecsi and Michael Laffey will all age out of Under-21 status. The same applies to Scanlon and Kelly. They either step up into the registered senior pool or find opportunities elsewhere.

These small details matter when you start counting homegrown and non-homegrown slots.

Homegrown Puzzle

Liverpool’s homegrown core for 2026/27 already has some shape.

Conor Bradley, Elliott, James McConnell, Koumas, Vitezslav Jaros, Freddie Woodman and Jeremie Frimpong are all under contract and would count towards the homegrown quota. The first five are classed as club-trained for European competition, with Woodman and Frimpong academy-trained.

Luke Chambers, Scanlon, Kaide Gordon, Isaac Mabaya, Owen Beck, Laffey and Kelly would also all 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 pair whose futures require clarity.

Non-Homegrown Squeeze

Right now, Liverpool fill all 17 non-homegrown slots for the 2026/27 campaign. That congestion will ease if contracts are allowed to run down.

Van Dijk, Alisson, Endo and Tsimikas are all currently heading for the exit at the end of the season. If Araujo is not retained permanently, his return to Barcelona would open another place.

Then there are the likely movers.

Chiesa’s contract runs until 2028, but the Italian has never been more than a fringe option at Anfield. A parting of ways would surprise nobody.

Mac Allister’s future sits under a cloud of uncertainty after he revealed the club had told him they were not in a position to offer him a new contract at present. That stance will invite questions.

Cody Gakpo’s name will also resurface in gossip columns after he came close to leaving in the summer amid interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. Giorgi Mamardashvili, too, has been linked with a possible move away.

On top of that, there is the European registration riddle. Ndukwe and Brughmans will still be Under-21s in Premier League terms and would not need to be registered domestically. But they are not eligible for UEFA’s List B, so they would occupy senior non-homegrown spots if selected in Europe.

Strip the scenario back to basics and assume only out-of-contract players depart, with Araujo signed permanently. In that case, Liverpool would sit on 15 senior non-homegrown players, with Jacquet and Pecsi no longer classed as Under-21s.

Ndukwe and Brughmans could then, in theory, take the final two European berths.

That is the neat version. Real life rarely follows neat lines.

The Shape of a 2026/27 Squad

For now, this is how a potential Liverpool squad for 2026/27 lines up, based purely on current contracts and the assumption Araujo stays:

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).

And that is before any new senior signings arrive, before any surprise sales, and before contract talks are resolved one way or the other.

What is certain is that Iraola will not be working with the same group he inherited. The core could be younger, the hierarchy different, the dressing room stripped of some of its longest-serving leaders.

The only real question now is just how radical Liverpool are prepared to be when the rebuild truly begins.