Liverpool could sell at least nine players as Richard Hughes faces tough transfer balancing act

Liverpool could sell at least nine players as Richard Hughes faces tough transfer balancing act

Trent Alexander-Arnold will leave Liverpool this summer but the Reds could see a number of players join him out the exit door

(Image: 2025 Getty Images )

Trent Alexander-Arnold has confirmed he will leave Liverpool at the end of his contract this summer, but he is not the only player set to depart. A number of members of Arne Slot’s squad also have question marks hanging over their heads when it comes to their Anfield futures.

From the existing ranks, Joe Gomez, Wataru Endo, Ibrahima Konate, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Federico Chiesa, Harvey Elliott, Diogo Jota, Kostas Tsimikas, Andy Robertson, Caomhin Kelleher, Jarell Quansah and Tyler Morton have all been linked with exits. And that’s before we even touch on the futures of any returning loanees.

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Of course, the Reds are not going to offload the majority of their title-winning squad. But they will have to move on a number of players when the transfer window re-opens.

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Liverpool named a 21-man squad for the second half of the 2024/25 season, featuring six homegrown players and made up of senior players over the age of 21. To name a full 25-man squad, clubs are not permitted to name more than 17 non-homegrown players.

Remove Alexander-Arnold and the Reds are left with a 20-man featuring five homegrown players. Consequently, within that current quota they have space for a maximum of five new players providing no more than two of them are non-homegrown.

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However, Liverpool are currently set to far exceed that 25-man maximum squad with a number of their players no longer qualifying as Under-21 from the start of next season.

Harvey Elliott, Jarell Quansah, Conor Bradley, Harvey Davies (who is reportedly out of contract this summer), Calvin Ramsay, James Balagizi, Jakub Ojrzynski, James Norris (who remains on loan at Irish side Shelbourne until November 2025), Dominic Corness, Lucas Stephenson and Fabian Mrozek will all need to be registered if Slot is to select them in the Premier League next season.

From such a list, the majority qualify as homegrown, with the likes of Elliott, Quansah and Bradley ensuring the Reds will not necessarily be left short by Alexander-Arnold’s looming exit.

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However, Ramsay has missed out on obtaining homegrown status courtesy of spending the second half of the current season on loan with Kilmarnock. Had he finished the season with former loan club Wigan Athletic instead, he would have accumulated the required three seasons registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales before his 21st birthday to qualify as homegrown.

When you also include incoming goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili and returning loanees Nat Phillips (who himself has claimed his contract expires in 2026 despite suggestions elsewhere ), Rhys Williams and Owen Beck, who are already over-21, Liverpool are left with (excluding Davies and the out on loan Norris) 32 senior players - of which 17 classify as non-homegrown.

Discount the current Reds players yet to make a senior, competitive appearance for the club and they will still possess 28 senior players, with the same 17 stars who are classed as non-homegrown.

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Admittedly, Liverpool are unlikely to call upon the majority of the aforementioned academy starlets who are about to become of age.

But they still face a possible dilemma considering a plethora of their homegrown players are also being linked with moves away.

The likes of Kelleher, Morton, Phillips and Williams are expected to move on, while Dundee United have expressed interest in signing Stephenson permanently.

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Meanwhile, Joe Gomez, Elliott, Quansah, and Beck all face varying degrees of uncertainty regarding their own Reds futures, leaving only Curtis Jones, Bradley, Vitezslav Jaros as the only homegrown players who can currently be confident about their Anfield futures.

While Liverpool currently do not have any issues filling their homegrown quota for next season, it will be a slightly different story if a number of the aforementioned names move on.

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But as things stand, following Alexander-Arnold’s exit, the Reds will need to move on (or leave out) at least a further three players who have played for the club before to name a maximum 25-man squad anyway.

If they wish to strengthen Slot’s squad, with it known they are interested in signing a new striker and left-back at least, further exits will need to follow - especially considering they already possess the maximum total of 17 non-homegrown players.

And should a number of homegrown players be moved on, they will need to target new homegrown players to replace them or make do with a reduced squad below the maximum 25-man status.

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Of course, that has not fazed Liverpool before when they have been free to call upon the likes of Elliott, Bradley and Quansah. But now they are set to become of age, their pool of Under-21s stars who are already first team players is diminished with Stefan Bajetic, Kaide Gordon, James McConnell, Ben Doak and Jayden Danns the only other youngsters to have previously made a Premier League appearance.

In Mamardashvili, the Reds have already signed a new goalkeeper for this summer and will now look to strengthen further. While a striker and left-back are top of the list, a new right-back cannot be ruled out after Alexander-Arnold’s looming exit, while they continue to be linked with new centre-backs also.

Meanwhile, it would hardly be a surprise if they strengthened further in midfield and attack. But to bring in these hypothetical players in six different positions, Liverpool would need to see at least nine players who have played for the club before following Alexander-Arnold out of the exit door.

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Evidently, it will be a challenging balancing act for Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes as they look to build their squad for next season.

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