Liverpool could be forced into nine-player fire sale before making more summer signings

Liverpool may need to sell as many as NINE players before the transfer window closes this summer.

There is just over two weeks to go until the 2026/27 summer transfer window officially shuts on September 1, forcing Premier League clubs to make do with the squads they have built for the first half of the season.

So far this summer, several Premier League clubs have been extremely busy, with the British transfer record broken twice already, first by Elliot Anderson's £116million move from Nottingham Forest to Manchester City and then by Morgan Rogers joining Chelsea from Aston Villa for £117m.

But not every club in the English top-flight has had an active summer, as Liverpool have made just two signings so far since the window opened, despite losing three key players as free agents at the end of last season.

Mohamed Salah, Ibrahima Konate and Andrew Robertson have all left, and yet Osasuna winger Victor Munoz, who joined after his €40million (£34.6m) Osasuna release clause was triggered, and struggling Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo, who joined on a season-long loan this month, are the only additions.

It's widely been reported that the Reds are looking to bring in new attacking talent before the window closes, including Paris Saint-Germain's Bradley Barcola, but before they do so it's been revealed that they may have to sell as many as nine players.

That is because Liverpool now have 31 senior over-21s players after Araujo took up their 17th and final spot for a non-homegrown player in a maximum 25-man squad.

With several of the club’s youngsters coming of age this summer, Liverpool do actually have 14 players who qualify as homegrown, but this creates the issue of having 31 senior players who need to be registered ahead of the season.

And in the Champions League this number rises even further to 33, with both Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni needing to be registered; unlike in the Premier League, they are not eligible for List B (reserved for underage players).

A player can be registered on Champions League List B if they were born on or after 1 January 2005, and since turning 15, they have been eligible to play for the club for 2 uninterrupted years.

Alternatively, they can qualify after 3 consecutive years with the club, even if that period included one loan of up to 1 year to another club in the same national association.

For 16-year-olds: they can be on List B if they have been registered with the club continuously for the previous 2 years.

Luckily, Rio Ngumoha qualifies for a place on List B, while transfer target Ibrahim Mbaye would fit as an Under-21s player and not need to be registered for Premier League action, but wouldn't meet the criteria for List B in the Champions League.

Therefore, in order to meet the registration limits, Liverpool would need to leave out eight senior players when it comes to naming their Champions League squad, and six for the Premier League, and that's not including any future signings.

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Who could Liverpool sell this summer?

If Liverpool were to sell players before the window closes, there are perhaps three that stand out as the most likely options.

Amid the continued links to both Barcola and Mbaye, Liverpool winger Cody Gakpo has reportedly been considering a move to join Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur this summer.

Meanwhile, Curtis Jones may finally leave Anfield this summer, having long been frustrated with the club, with Italian giants Inter Milan seemingly interested.

Alexis Mac Allister has also been linked with a move away in recent days, with Manchester City reportedly interested, forcing his agent to speak out and address the links.