Top News

3 September 2026

Two players could now face uncertain futures at Anfield after being omitted.

Liverpool have excluded two first-team players from their Champions League squad for this season.

Those players are Wataru Endo and Federico Chiesa, with both missing from the Reds' 'List A', which had to be submitted on Wednesday evening.

The squad was confirmed on Thursday night, but neither the Japan international nor the Italy winger featured anywhere in the group.

Both players have found regular minutes hard to come by during their time at the club, and only one of the two — Endo — was included in the matchday squad for the recent 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest.

They were unable to secure moves to the Premier League or elsewhere in Europe during the summer, although the transfer windows in Turkey and Saudi Arabia are still open for now.

There was positive news for Liverpool supporters, though, as injured trio Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitike and Giovanni Leoni were all named in the squad.

That may indicate the three could return to action before the end of the year, and there is optimism that will happen.

Left out: Federico Chiesa

Andoni Iraola's side had a comparatively quiet transfer window by their usual standards, with the standout business being the late signing of Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain for £123 million.

The French winger has been included in the squad for Liverpool's European campaign, and so too has Cody Gakpo, who had appeared likely to leave Anfield amid interest from Manchester City.

The Netherlands forward remained at the club after Liverpool turned down a reported £80m offer from their Premier League rivals, and as a result Iraola's team did not press ahead with moves for either Ismaila Sarr or Yankuba Minteh, both of whom had been targets after bids for them were rejected.

Liverpool begin their league-phase campaign on Wednesday when Atletico Madrid visit Anfield. They then travel to LASK in mid-October before hosting Villarreal on matchday three.

That will be followed by a trip to Turkey to face Fenerbahce, and then another away fixture against Club Brugge.

FC Porto then travel to Merseyside for Liverpool's third-last league-phase game, before the Reds head to San Siro to face Inter Milan, where they will come up against former midfielder Curtis Jones, who completed a move to Italy earlier this summer.

Liverpool finish their group stage with a home match against Ligue 1 side Lens.