Julio Soler
PL: Would qualify as an under-21 player (still only 19)
CL: Would have to be registered as a non-homegrown player despite being born after January 2003, due to having insufficient prior involvement in English football
The Argentine defender would take a non-homegrown Champions League berth if signed, but if he were to join Liverpool this summer, he’d qualify as an under-21 player for three Premier League seasons.
Pedro Neto
PL: The 24-year-old Portugal winger would be classed as a non-homegrown player.
CL: Same as above.
Despite being with Wolves since 2019, Neto doesn’t meet the homegrown criteria for either the Premier League or Champions League. That’s because, at the time of his 21st birthday, he was only in his second season at Molineux and therefore doesn’t qualify as homegrown or association-trained.
Joachim Andersen
PL: The 28-year-old Danish defender would be classed as a non-homegrown player.
CL: Same as above.
Although Andersen has been with Crystal Palace for three years (and was on loan at Fulham before that), he didn’t come to England until he was 24, therefore missing the threshold for classification as homegrown in the Premier League or association-trained for UEFA competitions.
Giorgi Mamardashvili
PL: The 23-year-old Georgia goalkeeper would be classed as a non-homegrown player.
CL: Same as above.
Willian Pacho
PL: The 22-year-old Ecuadorian would be classed as a non-homegrown player.
CL: Same as above.
As it stands, Liverpool could sign any three of the last four names on that list, plus Gordon and Soler, while still falling within the Premier League’s homegrown criteria.
That would require six of the current squad aged 21 or over to be culled, but with several of that list very much on the fringes at Anfield, their inclusions would be surprising even if the squad was being named today.
Slot could also sign three ‘foreign’ players plus Gordon for the Reds’ Champions League roster. In that event, either Phillips or Pitaluga would likely be omitted from the list, if they’re still at the club by then.
On that note, there’s several names currently at Liverpool who could well move on before the end of the month. The likes of Billy Koumetio, Rhys Williams, Owen Beck, Phillips and Pitaluga may all be deemed surplus to requirements, while others such as Morton and Van den Berg might depart on loan.
That would give Liverpool even more leeway in terms of signing players while still conforming to homegrown eligibility criteria, and they’ve a lot more wriggle room on that front now than they did 12 months ago due to Adrian, Thiago and Matip moving on.
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