Liverpool have just dropped January transfer hint after naming 22-man Premier League squad

Liverpool have named a 22-man Premier League squad, but that doesn’t mean they are free to sign three new players willy-nilly in the January transfer window.

While allowed to name a maximum 25-man squad if complying with homegrown rules, the Reds have registered all 22 of their senior players born before January 1, 2002. This includes academy players Paul Glatzel and Vitezslav Jaros, along with veteran goalkeeper Adrian, who was left out of Jurgen Klopp’s Europa League squad.

Each squad must contain no more than 17 players who do not fulfil the league's 'homegrown' criteria, with Liverpool boasting 16 such players. However, with UEFA’s rules varying to the Premier League, summer signing Ryan Gravenberch and highly-rated youngster Ben Doak, who are classified as Under-21s players in the English top-flight, need to be registered to feature in the Europa League this season.

As a result, the Reds technically boast 18 overseas players, with Adrian having to be left out of the Europa League squad to make room for the pair. Consequently, if Liverpool wish to sign any players who don’t qualify as homegrown in January, they would need to sell or drop one of their current quota to make room for any such signings.

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They can sidestep such an issue in the Premier League by signing an Under-21s player, like Gravenberch. But while such a player would then be eligible to feature in domestic league matches, Klopp would still need to drop a player to make room for them in his Europa League squad.

Meanwhile, Liverpool currently boast six homegrown players with Trent