Liverpool's 2026/27 Squad Transformation Under Iraola

Andoni Iraola has barely started his Liverpool reign, but the shape of his 2026/27 squad is already shifting beneath his feet. Contracts are running down, loanees are circling back, and three future signings are already locked in. The Liverpool that walks out at Anfield in a year’s time could look very different to the one that started this season.

And one of the clearest signs of change is sitting on the bench.

Endo on the Outside

Wataru Endo did not play a single minute in Liverpool’s Carabao Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur. He watched as Trey Nyoni and James McConnell started ahead of him, with Alexis Mac Allister completing the midfield. When Iraola turned to his bench, he chose Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch before the 33-year-old.

Endo has not played under Iraola. He was left out of the Champions League squad. His deal runs out at the end of the season. Every sign points in the same direction.

Iraola has tried to keep the door open publicly.

“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.”

The reality on the pitch tells a harsher story. Endo’s game-time was already limited under Arne Slot. Under Iraola, it has shrunk further. At 34 in February and out of contract in June, he looks to be in the final stretch of his Liverpool career.

Reports this week even suggested the club could cash in during January to bank a final fee. Whether it is mid-season or next summer, the outcome feels the same: a likely goodbye.

And he will not be the only one.

Big Names, Big Decisions

As it stands, Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker, Joe Gomez, Kostas Tsimikas and Endo are all out of contract next summer. Harvey Davies, the back-up goalkeeper, is also listed as expiring then.

That does not automatically mean a clean sweep of exits. New deals could yet be offered. But on paper, Liverpool are staring at the possibility of losing their captain, their first-choice goalkeeper, a long-serving defender and their back-up left-back in one hit.

Ronald Araujo’s situation is different but just as important. His season-long loan from Barcelona runs out at the end of the campaign, though Liverpool hold a £47m option to buy the Uruguay international permanently. Take it, and he becomes a pillar of the next defensive era. Decline it, and another major hole opens up.

While those calls loom, some business for 2027 is already done.

Three Future Signings Already Agreed

Liverpool have quietly banked the first three deals of 2027.

Djylian N’Guessan will officially become a Liverpool player in January after a €5m agreement with Saint-Etienne for the forward. On paper, he joins mid-season. In practice, he stays where he is. The 18-year-old is on loan at Stade Brest and is scheduled to finish the campaign in Ligue 1 before heading to Anfield.

Lucca Brughmans is also on his way. Liverpool have agreed a £30m deal with KRC Genk for the Belgian goalkeeper. Like N’Guessan, he is due to complete the season with his current club, though Liverpool do have the option to bring the teenager over in January if they choose.

Then comes Samuel Martinez. The Colombian playmaker will arrive from Atletico Nacional next year in a £750,000 move once he turns 18.

There is also a familiar name on the horizon. Liverpool hold a £55m option to re-sign Jarell Quansah from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2027. The understanding is that the England centre-half has already agreed personal terms on an Anfield contract, should Liverpool trigger that clause.

The future is being stitched together now, even as the current squad splinters.

The Loanees Coming Back

Harvey Elliott is due back on Merseyside next summer once his season-long loan at Valencia ends. His contract runs until 2028, and his return will immediately add quality and homegrown value to Iraola’s midfield options.

Ifeanyi Ndukwe has taken a key step too. After making his debut for Levante on loan, he is now eligible for a work permit in England. Liverpool could recall the Austrian in January. If not, he will complete the season in La Liga before joining up in the summer.

Armin Pecsi and Kieran Morrison will also return from their loans at TSV Hartberg and Sheffield Wednesday respectively. Calvin Ramsay’s story is different: his loan at St Mirren coincides with the final year of his Liverpool contract, and he is set to leave as a free agent at the end of the season.

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

Fabian Mrozek is currently with FC Cincinnati, where the MLS club hold an option to sign the Polish goalkeeper permanently. His future may be decided away from Anfield altogether.

All of these moves feed into one central problem Iraola and Liverpool must solve: squad registration.

Kids Growing Into Squad Places

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

That means Jeremy Jacquet, Lewis Koumas, Pecsi and Michael Laffey will no longer qualify as Under-21s. The same applies to Scanlon and Kelly. They move from “bonus” youth options into full senior slots.

That shift matters. It squeezes the list. It forces choices.

Homegrown Core Taking Shape

Looking ahead to 2026/27, Liverpool’s homegrown group is already strong on paper.

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

Luke Chambers, Scanlon, Kaide Gordon, Isaac Mabaya, Owen Beck, Laffey and Kelly would also need to be registered if they remain at the club.

Gomez and Davies, as it stands, would walk away as free agents. Transfermarkt also lists Chambers and Gordon as out of contract, adding another layer of uncertainty to the homegrown pool.

Non-Homegrown Squeeze

Right now, Liverpool fill all 17 non-homegrown slots for the 2026/27 season. That will not last.

Van Dijk, Alisson, Endo and Tsimikas are all out of contract. If they are not renewed, four spots open up. If Araujo returns to Barcelona rather than being signed permanently, that frees another.

Federico Chiesa looks a likely departure. His deal runs until 2028, but he has never been more than a fringe figure at Anfield.

Questions also hang over Mac Allister. The Argentina international has spoken publicly about the club informing him they are not currently in a position to offer him a new contract. That line will not quiet speculation.

Cody Gakpo’s name will be back in the rumour mill too after he almost left in the summer amid interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. Giorgi Mamardashvili has also been linked with a move away.

Ndukwe and Brughmans will still count as Under-21s domestically and would not need to be registered for Premier League duty. In Europe, it is different. Neither is eligible for List B, so both would need senior non-homegrown slots if Iraola wants them in continental competition.

Strip it back to the most conservative scenario: the out-of-contract players depart, Araujo is signed permanently, and no other major sales occur. In that case, Liverpool would sit on 15 senior non-homegrown players, with Jacquet and Pecsi no longer classed as Under-21s.

That would leave two open berths. Ndukwe and Brughmans could, in theory, take those final places in the European squad.

Of course, the market rarely stays that neat.

How the 2026/27 Squad Could Look

With all those moving parts, one possible shape of Liverpool’s 2026/27 group, based on current contracts and options, looks like this:

• Goalkeepers: Mamardashvili, 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).

It is only a snapshot, not a final draft. Contracts can be signed. Options can be ignored. Loans can turn permanent and vice versa.

But the direction of travel is clear. Youth is being promoted. Contracts are forcing tough calls. Andoni Iraola is being handed the tools to build a new Liverpool, piece by piece.

The question now is not whether the squad will change. It is how ruthless the club are prepared to be as they reshape the next era at Anfield.