Liverpool's 25-Man Premier League Squad: Missing Trio Explained
Liverpool’s official 25-man Premier League squad for the 2026-27 season dropped on Thursday – and three noticeable absentees immediately set tongues wagging.
Jeremy Jacquet, Rio Ngumoha and Giovanni Leoni were nowhere to be seen on the list. No place among the names. No asterisk. Nothing. For a few hours, social media did the rest: were they injured, frozen out, or even on the move?
The reality is far more straightforward. All three are classified as U21 players and therefore do not need to be registered in the main squad list to feature in the league.
Barcola headlines summer business
Liverpool head into the new campaign with their transfer work done and dusted, their final act of the window a statement signing. Bradley Barcola arrived from Paris Saint-Germain in a $166 million deal and could make his debut as soon as Friday night away at Ipswich Town.
It capped a summer in which departures outnumbered arrivals, easing the selection puzzle for new head coach Andoni Iraola when it came to finalizing his Premier League roster. With fewer senior bodies to juggle, the 25-man cut was more straightforward than in previous years.
The official list reads: Ronald Araujo, Bradley Barcola, Alisson Becker, Conor Bradley, Luke Chambers, Federico Chiesa, Hugo Ekitike, Wataru Endo, Jeremie Frimpong, Cody Gakpo, Joe Gomez, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexander Isak, Vitezslav Jaros, Milos Kerkez, Isaac Mabaya, Alexis Mac Allister, Giorgi Mamardashvili, James McConnell, Victor Munoz, Dominik Szoboszlai, Kostas Tsimikas, Virgil van Dijk, Florian Wirtz, Freddie Woodman.
That group is now locked in until the January transfer window opens. No additions, no late tweaks. This is Iraola’s senior core for the first half of the season.
Why Jacquet, Ngumoha and Leoni are missing – and still available
The absence of Jacquet, Ngumoha and Leoni from that roll call startled sections of the fanbase. Jacquet and Ngumoha have already appeared this season, and Leoni has been heavily talked up inside the club. Their omission looked, at first glance, like a red flag.
It isn’t.
Premier League rules restrict each club to a maximum of 17 players who do not qualify as ‘homegrown’ in their 25-man squad. The remaining places, up to that 25-player ceiling, must be filled by homegrown players. On top of that, clubs are allowed to use U21 players without registering them in that main list.
To qualify as homegrown, a player must have been registered with a club in England or Wales for three full seasons, or 36 months, before their 21st birthday, or from a season in which they turn 21. U21 players, meanwhile, are completely exempt from the 25-man squad requirement if they were born on or after January 1, 2005.
Jacquet, born July 13, 2005, is the oldest of the trio but still fits comfortably into that category. Ngumoha and Leoni are both teenagers and also fall under the U21 umbrella. All three can play in the Premier League this season without being named on the official 25-man document.
So while their names are missing from the paperwork, they are very much in Iraola’s plans on the pitch.
Injury picture: Gomez closest, Leoni to follow
One complication for Leoni is not administrative but physical. He is currently sidelined, one of three Liverpool players out injured alongside Joe Gomez and Federico Chiesa.
Speaking before Friday’s trip to Ipswich, Iraola outlined the recovery timetable for the trio.
“The closest one is Joe,” he said. “Joe will probably start training with us next week.
“He’s had a normal recovery from a muscle injury, more or less. We were expecting the time on this. I hope we can have him before the break, let’s say.
“The next one probably should be Giovanni Leoni. I think the plan is also to start training during the break, with the group, I think even Fede should be around those dates.”
The message is clear. The squad list may be fixed, but the squad itself is still evolving. As Barcola settles, as Gomez edges back, and as Leoni prepares to step into full training, Iraola’s options are only going to grow.
