Are Liverpool treading dangerous grounds with a lean squad? 

Liverpool FC endured a disappointing 2025/26 Premier League season, stuttering towards a Champions League spot in the end. However, that was the bare minimum expected from the defending champions and led to the inevitable sacking of head-coach Arne Slot. Despite massive expectations, Liverpool ended the season trophyless and also bid farewell to some of their veterans. Since Andoni Iraola’s appointment as Slot’s successor in June, Liverpool is yet to make a significant signing, with the club’s transfer activity remaining relatively quiet. With the new season approaching soon, Liverpool fans are swaying between anxiety and panic due to the lack of signings. 

Liverpool have only brought in winger Victor Muñoz from Osasuna and Jérémy Jacquet from Rennes so far. With the new season about to begin in two weeks, the Reds are looking lean in terms of squad depth as compared to their rivals. So, the big question is – Is Liverpool going to have another underwhelming season without the necessary signings? 

To answer this question, we need to look at the factors affecting their lean squad depth followed by conclusion. 

Senior Players’ departure in the summer 

As we know, Liverpool has lost three key players in Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson and Ibrahima Konaté – two of whom decided to move on at the end of their contract while Salah requested a termination with one year remaining. Replacing the quality and experience of world-class players is very challenging. Even if Liverpool tried to find a replacement for Mohamed Salah, there are hardly any wingers who can produce the kind of incredible numbers he conjured up every weekend. Losing out on someone as experienced as Robertson even as a backup was a massive loss and not being able to convince Konaté to a new deal was another huge failure. With speculations around Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo wanting to move on this summer, finding more reinforcements in such a short span could be disastrous. 

Losing senior players and bringing in new ones is always challenging as the new players need time to settle into the team culture, ethos, style of play and a new location. It’s never easy at a big club as the expectations are different and there are chances of wilting under the pressure, especially if the player comes in for a huge transfer fee. 

Long-term injuries and injury-prone players 

Liverpool suffered several injury setbacks last season. New signings Alexander Isak, Geovanni Leoni and Hugo Ekitike suffered long-term, season-ending injuries. Full-back Conor Bradley and goalkeeper Alisson Becker were unfortunately out for a long period as well with Bradley, Leoni and Ekitike missing pre-season as well. Backup forward Jayden Danns too suffered another injury setback, missing out on the pre-season tour. 

Additionally, backup defensive option Joe Gomez, right-back Jeremie Frimpong and new signing Jérémy Jacquet suffered short-term injuries in pre-season games. 

Out of the aforementioned players, Liverpool will still miss Hugo Ekitike and Conor Bradley for about four months as their injuries are far more serious and their return may be delayed. New defenders Jérémy Jacquet and Geovanni Leoni will also be handled with caution as they are both coming back after long-term injuries. This may leave the defense and the forward line in jeopardy. 

With so many fitness and injury issues already and Liverpool decidedly not prioritizing defensive reinforcements is shocking to say the least. 

Inflated Transfer market and Homegrown (HG) quota limitations 

The transfer market has changed drastically over the past few years. Selling clubs are demanding exorbitant prices for their players. Even unproven players who have barely played a season of league football are being put up for a preposterous transfer fee of over €100+ million. For context, Liverpool bid a €116 million for Ivorian winger Yan Diomande from German club RB Leipzig but Leipzig rejected it, wanting a fee in excess of €130 million. Such is the state of inflation that even average players will cost in excess of €70-€80 million, making it even more tough to buy players as all clubs have a certain budget within which they can operate.  

Liverpool also has a limitation with homegrown quota. According to the Premier League’s rule, any Premier League club can have a maximum of 17 overseas players in their 25-man squad with a minimum of eight homegrown players. Homegrown refers to any player registered with an English or Welsh FA-affiliated club for three full seasons or 36 months before turning 21-years-old, regardless of their nationality.  Currently, Liverpool only has one spot available for an overseas player. Hence, they can’t add another senior overseas player without selling from the current squad. 

Conclusion

Analysing the current Liverpool squad, we can easily say that they are relatively weaker as compared to their traditional ‘Top 6’ rivals. Arsenal and Manchester City already possess superior squads and Manchester United is also strengthening their squad for the upcoming season, leaving Liverpool at a huge disadvantage. 

Moreover, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have also strengthened their squads with high-quality signings and their omission from the European competitions also gives them an edge with a comparatively relaxed scheduling. 

With the Reds’ pursuit of Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain moving at a snail’s pace, it seems that they are not focused on other areas that need immediate attention. With two weeks to go for the upcoming season and hardly any signings being made, Liverpool could be repeating the mistakes of last season. They focused all their energies on marquee signings, ignoring other key areas which resulted in disjointed and inconsistent performances all season long. 

We hope that doesn’t prove to be the case, as the Premier League is widely regarded as the most competitive league in the world with a large audience. As one of football’s biggest global clubs with millions of followers, Liverpool must remain competitive and challenge for silverware. 

For now, though, the signs look ominous, as they are yet to secure the required signings, with the Liverpool management putting new head coach Andoni Iraola in a precarious position due to the lack of key additions to the squad. If they fail to address the key areas this summer, there is a possibility that the most successful club in England could even miss out on a Champions League spot and endure another abysmal and trophyless season.