Liverpool have omitted Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo from their 25-man squad for the league phase of the Champions League, the club confirmed on Thursday night. Neither player has featured prominently for the Reds this season, and their absence from the European list has fuelled speculation about their long-term futures at Anfield.
Italy international Chiesa, 28, is currently sidelined through injury but is expected to resume training during the upcoming international break. He has found first-team opportunities hard to come by since arriving from Juventus in the summer of 2024, and this is not the first time he has been left out of Liverpool's Champions League plans. Last season, under previous management, he was similarly excluded at the outset before being added to the list following a serious knee injury to defender Giovanni Leoni.
Japan midfielder Endo, 33, fares little better in terms of minutes, having been restricted to substitute appearances in both of Liverpool's league games so far this term. He did feature in the matchday squad for last week's 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest, but that hasn't been enough to secure his place among the continental contingent. Instead, 21-year-old academy product James McConnell has been handed a spot on the list.
Both Chiesa and Endo remain without a move away from Merseyside this summer, despite reported interest and speculation linking them with departures. While the major European windows have closed, transfer markets in Turkey and Saudi Arabia remain open, leaving the door ajar for potential exits before those deadlines pass.
There was more encouraging news elsewhere in the squad announcement. Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitike and Giovanni Leoni have all been included on the list despite continuing to recover from long-term injuries. Speaking ahead of Liverpool's Premier League clash with Ipswich Town, the club's manager indicated that Leoni could return to full training as early as the September international break, though Bradley and Ekitike are expected to need longer before making their comebacks.
Elsewhere, the squad reflects a relatively subdued summer of transfer activity for Liverpool, with the headline arrival being winger Bradley Barcola, who joined for a reported £123 million from Paris Saint-Germain and has been included in the European squad. Cody Gakpo also remains part of the group after Liverpool rebuffed an approximately £80 million bid from Manchester City for the Dutch forward. His decision to stay meant Liverpool did not pursue alternative targets such as Ismaila Sarr or Yankuba Minteh, both of whom had been considered.
Under Champions League regulations, clubs are permitted to name up to 25 players on List A, with at least eight of those slots required to be filled by homegrown or club-trained talent. Liverpool also retain the option of registering an unlimited number of players on List B, typically reserved for younger, academy-developed prospects.
Liverpool begin their Champions League league-phase campaign at home against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, 9 September. Their subsequent fixtures include an away trip to LASK, a home game against Villarreal, and a journey to Turkey to face Fenerbahce, before further away days at Club Brugge and a home clash with Porto. The campaign continues with a visit to Inter Milan — where they will face former midfielder Curtis Jones, who left for Italy earlier this summer — before concluding the group stage at home against Ligue 1 side Lens.
Based on reporting from Standard Sport and BBC Sport.