Liverpool will have to negotiate some UEFA squad rules next season after what is expected to be a busy summer transfer window.
While Liverpool's midfield troubles last season saw them learn the hard way about the value of quality over quantity, it's clear the Reds have been missing a pillar at the top. how the match.
Jurgen Klopp has called for the services of 11 different senior midfielders this season, with the total rising to 15 if one wants to include Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cody Gakpo, Roberto Firmino and youngster Bobby Clark. However, with Liverpool ultimately boasting an aging and injury-prone squad as they navigate a disappointing transfer campaign, the majority of their picks are aging stars. unfortunate players who are periodically fired, or whose potential is still young and unproven. .
Liverpool were quick to act to address these issues at least once the season was over. With the departures of James Milner, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Juventus sweetheart Arthur Melo, the Red Devils confirmed the signing of Alexis Mac Allister on Thursday. Bought for an undisclosed fee, believed to be as low as £35m, the 24-year-old is a proven Premier League player entering his prime and boasts a record of readiness. perfect.
However, the arrival of the World Cup winner is only the beginning of Liverpool's midfield overhaul, with the Red Devils set to bring in at least one additional, if not two, signings. into their engine room this summer. But with Mac Allister ticking the 'spike' box, it looks like the club's next targets are a different profile.
Liverpool continue to be linked with a plethora of midfielders, with Khephren Thuram and Manu Kone currently leading the speculation against Romeo Lavia, Ryan Gravenberch and Gabri Veiga. All five of these players will feature at the European Under-21 Championship this summer, showing how the Red Devils may now be eyeing younger role models. Of course, they are not the only names on the club's list of potential targets, but with Mason Mount clearly linked to Manchester United and interest in Conor Gallagher and Matheus Nunes dwindling after reporting interest earlier in the year, it was the youngster. selection has remained prominent in the gossip columns since the end of the Premier League season.
With players born on or after 1 January 2000 qualifying for this summer's Euros U21 in Romania and Georgia, Thuram and Kone are free to play despite being 22 years old now. Therefore, should Liverpool sign either player, the Red Devils will have to register them in the Premier League and European teams as usual.
But it's a different story for Liverpool's other reported midfield target playing in the league, with Lavia, Gravenberch and Veiga still classified as under-21 players.
Lavia is still only 19, while Gravenberch and Veiga turned 21 last month. As such, none of these three will need to sign up for a Premier League team next season if signed by the Red Devils or any other top British team.
With Liverpool not possessing enough senior players in the country to have a full 25-man squad, such a step would be beneficial. This is especially the case with Lavia, who joined Man City in 2020 before signing for Southampton last summer, who will qualify as a homegrown player at the end of the 2023/24 season, before signing for Southampton. when they are no longer classified as U21 players from 2026/27 onwards.
However, UEFA rules would prevent these transfers from being the perfect solution for the Reds in the absence of the eight homegrown senior players needed to fill in the full 25 players' names.
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