Chiesa and Endo out of Liverpool’s Champions League squad: What does this mean for the duo?
Liverpool’s 25-man UEFA Champions League squad was announced on Thursday, ahead of the first round of league phase fixtures to be played between next Tuesday and Thursday.
While most of the expected players were included, the omission of two names has raised a lot of questions for the fan base, with Italian forward Federico Chiesa and Japanese midfielder Wataru Endo failing to make the cut.
As per UEFA rules, every club has to include at least eight locally trained players, and to do so Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola had to take the tough decision of keeping these two experienced players out.
As per the official UEFA website, Liverpool’s 25-man squad for the 2026/27 Champions League season is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Alisson Becker, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Freddie Woodman, and Vítezslav Jaros
Defenders: Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Ronald Araújo, Jérémy Jacquet, Giovanni Leoni, Conor Bradley, Milos Kerkez, Kostas Tsimikas, Jeremie Frimpong, Luke Chambers, and Isaac Mabaya
Midfielders: Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Víctor Muñoz, Florian Wirtz, and James McConnell
Forwards: Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitiké, Bradley Barcola, and Cody Gakpo
Endo suffered a serious injury ahead of the World Cup during the summer, which saw him not just miss the competition but announce his international retirement outright. Chiesa, meanwhile, has been in and out of the matchday squads due to fitness-related issues.
It seems like Iraola is going to prefer the younger players instead of Endo and Chiesa. With Bradley Barcola joining the club in a big-money transfer, he’s expected to be a nailed-on starter on the left wing, with Cody Gakpo and Víctor Muñoz also available as options.
There are now two questions troubling the minds of Liverpool fans after looking at this squad. Firstly, what does this mean for Chiesa and Endo’s future at Liverpool? And secondly, if they were deemed surplus to requirements, why didn’t the club try to sell them and get in replacements?
These are both tricky questions, and the answers lie with the Liverpool management and Iraola.
First of all, three players from that announced squad — Hugo Ekitiké, Conor Bradley, and Giovanni Leoni — are still recovering from long-term injuries, with their return dates not known. That Iraola still decided to keep them in the squad reflects his lack of belief in the two players he has decided to leave out.
We have seen “Iraola-ball” at Bournemouth and know that the style demands a lot of energy and intensity from his midfielders and forwards; clearly, he doesn’t believe Chiesa and Endo can offer that. Moreover, Endo is an ageing player, and neither he nor Chiesa has played many games over the past two seasons to have any kind of momentum or fitness to play big Champions League games against top teams.
In terms of why they weren’t moved on and subsequently replaced, while we don’t know what happens behind the scenes, according to Liverpool-based journalist Paul Joyce, the club are looking to add quality instead of quantity and will only target high-profile targets whom they feel will make an instant impact rather than signing squad players. David Ornstein of The Athletic has also recently mentioned that Liverpool were reluctant to make a midfield signing in the summer due to Alexis Mac Allister not leaving the club. Hence, Endo wasn’t sold, as they needed squad depth due to the departure of Curtis Jones.
As for Chiesa’s preferred left-wing position, Liverpool do have Barcola, Gakpo, and Rio Ngumoha as options, though Chiesa could play on the right wing as well, and Liverpool’s failure to secure a replacement for Mohamed Salah could be a reason to have Chiesa as one of the stop-gap options for the less critical fixtures.
Another reason to keep hold of them could be the two domestic cups Liverpool will want to target apart from the Premier League and the Champions League. Chiesa and Endo have both played their part in cup competitions and as substitutes in Premier League games. Injuries to key players are also to be expected over the long season. Therefore, having experienced players on the bench becomes a necessity.
For these reasons, I believe Liverpool have decided to keep Endo and Chiesa in the squad until at least January.
In the long term, though, it’s believed that their future lies elsewhere, as Iraola will want to bring in the kind of players who could offer more quality, intensity, and agility. This omission is a clear indication to both Endo and Chiesa that they are not part of the larger plan and should look to depart Anfield by next summer.
