Jurgen Klopp has hinted Liverpool are facing a headache when it comes to naming their Champions League squad for the second half of the season at the end of the month.
The Reds were forced to leave out both Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita for the first half of the campaign, with injuries ensuring they weren't included in Klopp's 24-man squad. Now both are back fit and can be registered, alongside January signing Cody Gakpo.
However, Liverpool are only allowed to register three new players, meaning any future January signings are unlikely and that they will have to leave out at least two senior players as things stand, following the arrival of the Dutchman.
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"On top of that we have the problem in the moment that four of our offensive players are injured. Our strikers." Klopp pointed out in a spikey pre-match press conference ahead of his side's trip to Brighton & Hove Albion. "So now we buy another one then they come back, thankfully. Not tomorrow, but they will come back. Darwin soon, the others a little bit later. And we have seven strikers then.
"We couldn't even put them all on the Champions League list. We had to make a decision. Who goes on the new one and the other one. Stuff like this. It's just not that easy. That's why I say you cannot solve the problems, especially with injuries."
But why are Liverpool facing such a dilemma when it comes to naming their Champions League squad? Theo Squires dives into UEFA squad rules to explain and takes a look at who could find themselves left out of Klopp's squad...
Jurgen Klopp named a 24-man squad for this season’s group-stages, with the Reds not boasting enough club-trained players to name a full 25-man group. Barring the re-signing of a club-trained player in January, this will remain the case for the knockout stages.
Clubs are allowed to name a maximum of three new players in their Champions League squad at the mid-season point, with the expected inclusion of Gakpo, at one current player’s expense, set to fill up one such space.
But with Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain both not included in the squad for the first half of the season because of injury, if they are to both be selected, Liverpool won’t be able to register any other new players - which could hint that their transfer business for January is already complete. Meanwhile, two current players would still have to drop out to make room for the pair.
The Reds return to Champions League action against Real Madrid in the round-of-16 next month. They will host the Spanish giants at Anfield, in a repeat of last year's final, on February 21, before travelling to Madrid for the second leg on March 15.
With their European squad set to be submitted at the start of next month, we take a look at who could miss out.
Stefan Bajcetic drops out
First things, first. Stefan Bajcetic is highly likely to be the man left out of Liverpool’s 24-man squad to make room for January signing Cody Gakpo. The midfielder made three appearances in the group-stages and has impressed so far during the campaign.
But while he will drop out, that won’t mean he is ineligible to feature for the Reds in Europe in 2023. As an 18-year-old, Bajcetic is young enough to be registered as a ‘List B’ player, and therefore still be selected without being included in their 25-man squad. However, despite being the right age, he wasn’t eligible for the list in the summer.
UEFA rules state: “A player may be registered on List B if he is born on, or after, 1 January 2001 and has been eligible to play for the club concerned for any uninterrupted period of two years since his 15th birthday by the time he is registered with UEFA – or for a total of three consecutive years with a maximum of one loan period to a club from the same association for a period not longer than one year. Players aged 16 may be submitted if they have been registered with the club for the previous two years without interruption.”
Bajcetic joined Liverpool from Celta Vigo in December 2020. As a result, he has now fulfilled an uninterrupted period of two years at Anfield to be registered on List B.
Meanwhile, Kaide Gordon could also be included on the list for the first time after signing from Derby County in February 2021. However, the likes of teenagers Ben Doak and Bobby Clark have not yet been on the club’s books long enough to be named on List B.
As a result, they are ineligible to play in the Champions League unless they are included in Klopp’s 25-man squad. This is why summer signings Fabio Carvalho and Calvin Ramsay are both currently registered in the squad despite both being under the age of 21.
Three new players included?
So Bajcetic out, Gakpo in. Liverpool have their maximum 24-man squad, everyone’s happy, job’s a good’un. Or is it?
Well after injuries saw Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain both left out of the squad for the first half of the season, they will either be out once again or restored at the expense of two others next month. The Reds can’t name more than a 24-man squad as things stand, after all.
If both are added, it would also suggest that Liverpool won’t sign any more players in January. However, if they did strengthen further this month, a couple of senior players would be facing disappointment.
Who else gets left out?
So we know Bajcetic will be one player to drop out with minimum hassle. With Gakpo taking his place, Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain are currently the two senior players set to miss out.
However, there are alternatives. With Joe Gomez and James Milner both capable of playing right-back, and injuries limiting him to just two appearances for Liverpool so far, Klopp could opt to leave out Ramsay.
Fifth choice centre-back Nat Phillips is also an option to be left out, though homegrown rules mean Oxlade-Chamberlain would have to fill his place if he was withdrawn otherwise the Reds’ squad would be limited further to 23 players if they didn’t sign a qualifying player.
Having made just one appearance for Liverpool because of injury, Juventus loanee Arthur Melo could also be left out regardless of whether his temporary deal is cancelled or not in January.
Meanwhile, with Luis Diaz currently sidelined until March after undergoing knee surgery, the Reds could take a calculated, short-term gamble and leave the Colombian out with the winger facing a race against time to return to fitness to face Real Madrid anyway. Fellow long-term absentees Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino could also be at risk of a similar fate if that is the path Klopp opts to go down.
Goalkeeping loophole
There is a loophole for Klopp to consider, however. He could leave out third-choice goalkeeper Adrian to make room for all his senior outfield players instead.
Clubs are required to include at least two goalkeepers on List A and at least three in total (List A and List B combined), so it is possible that the German could leave out the Spaniard and call upon youngster Harvey Davies to make up numbers behind Alisson and Caoimhin Kelleher instead.
Such a decision would be a gamble, but it could be one worth taking as if Liverpool found themselves in a situation where they regretted leaving out Adrian, UEFA rules could actually permit them to make a temporary change. That’s because if a club cannot count on the services of at least two goalkeepers registered on List A because of long-term injury or illness (i.e. one that lasts 30 days), they can temporarily replace him at any time during the season.
As a result, if Alisson or Kelleher were missing because of injury or suspension, it is plausible that the Reds could then call-up Adrian despite leaving him out of their squad at the end of January.
Homegrown players
While teams are allowed to name a 25-man squad for the Champions League, eight of those 25 places are reserved exclusively for 'locally trained players'. If a club has fewer than eight locally trained players in their squad, then the maximum number of players on List A is reduced accordingly as has previously been mentioned.
There are two categories of ‘locally trained players’ - club-trained players and association-trained players.
Club-trained players are players who were on a club's books for three years between the ages of 15 and 21, while association-trained players are players who were on another club's books in the same association for three years between the ages of 15 and 21. However, no club can have more than four association-trained players among their eight 'local' nominees on List A.
Liverpool currently only possess three club-trained players in Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, and Caoimhin Kelleher. Their current four association-trained players are James Milner, Jordan Henderson, Fabio Carvalho, and Nat Phillips.
While Oxlade-Chamberlain would be an eighth homegrown player, the Reds would still not possess the fourth required club-trained player to name a full 25-man squad. Still limited to 24 players as a result, Liverpool could include the midfielder in place of one of the aforementioned quartet or name him alongside such players without filling the full ‘local’ nominees quota.
List B players
Harvey Davies, Isaac Mabaya, Luke Chambers, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Dominic Corness, and Melkamu Frauendorf were all named on List B for the first half of the season. Bajcetic is set to be added to the list, while Gordon could potentially be included also.
Liverpool can add further youngsters to List B as the season goes on, providing ‘he is born on, or after, 1 January 2001 and has been eligible to play for the club concerned for any uninterrupted period of two years since his 15th birthday by the time he is registered with UEFA – or for a total of three consecutive years with a maximum of one loan period to a club from the same association for a period not longer than one year.’
When do Liverpool have to name their squad?
Ahead of the round-of-16, clubs can register a maximum of three new players by 24:00 CET on February 2.
Possible Liverpool Champions League squad
Goalkeepers: Alisson Becker, Caoimhin Kelleher (club-trained).
Defenders: Joe Gomez (club-trained), Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Kostas Tsimikas, Calvin Ramsay, Andy Robertson, Joel Matip, Trent Alexander-Arnold (club-trained).
Midfielders: Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara, James Milner (association-trained), Naby Keita, Jordan Henderson (association-trained), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (association-trained), Arthur Melo.
Forwards: Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Fabio Carvalho (association-trained).
List B players: Harvey Davies, Isaac Mabaya, Luke Chambers, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Stefan Bajcetic, Dominic Corness, Kaide Gordon, Melkamu Frauendorf.
Players added to List A: Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Cody Gakpo.
Players removed from List A (Three from): Adrian, Nat Phillips, Calvin Ramsay, Arthur Melo, Stefan Bajcetic, Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota, and Luis Diaz.
*A version of this story was first published on January 5, 2023.
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