Liverpool might have to sell nine players before they can buy more this summer.
Liverpool might need to sell up to nine players before the summer transfer window closes.
There are just over two weeks left until the window shuts on September 1, meaning Premier League teams have to stick with the squads they’ve put together for the first half of the season.
This summer, many Premier League clubs have been very busy, breaking the British transfer record twice. First, Elliot Anderson moved from Nottingham Forest to Manchester City for £116 million, and then Morgan Rogers joined Chelsea from Aston Villa for £117 million.
But not all teams have been active. Liverpool, for example, have only signed two players since the window opened, even though they lost three important players—Mohamed Salah, Ibrahima Konate, and Andrew Robertson—as free agents at the end of last season.
Their new signings are Victor Munoz, an Osasuna winger who joined after Liverpool activated his €40 million (£34.6m) release clause, and Ronald Araujo, a defender from Barcelona who came on a season-long loan.
Reports say Liverpool want to bring in more attacking players, including PSG’s Bradley Barcola. However, before doing that, they might need to sell as many as nine players.
This is because with Araujo, Liverpool now has 31 senior players over 21, and the Premier League allows only 25 registered players in the squad, with a limit of 17 non-homegrown players.
Even though 14 players count as homegrown, Liverpool still have too many senior players to register for the season.
In the Champions League, the problem is bigger—they have 33 players to consider because under-21 players don’t qualify for List B as easily.
List B is for younger players born on or after January 1, 2005, who have been with the club for at least two years without interruption. Some younger players like Rio Ngumoha qualify, but others, like potential signing Ibrahim Mbaye, don’t meet the criteria for the Champions League List B.
Because of these rules, Liverpool would have to leave out eight senior players from the Champions League squad and six from the Premier League squad, and that’s before any new signings come in.
If Liverpool decides to sell, three players seem most likely to go.
Winger Cody Gakpo might be heading to Tottenham Hotspur after being linked with a move.
Curtis Jones, who has been frustrated at Liverpool, could leave too, with Inter Milan showing interest.
Alexis Mac Allister has also been linked with a move, possibly to Manchester City, which led his agent to speak out about the rumors.
So with the window closing soon, Liverpool might have some busy days ahead, trying to balance their squad and bring in new players.