Andoni Iraola has made his first big European call as Liverpool manager. It’s a decision that says as much about the future as it does about the present.
Hugo Ekitike, still working his way back from a ruptured Achilles tendon, has been named in Liverpool’s 25-man Champions League squad. Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo have not.
A Long Road Back – and a Clear Vote of Confidence
Ekitike has not kicked a ball for Liverpool since April, when his season was cut short by the serious Achilles injury. Surgery followed, then the slow, lonely grind of rehab. Liverpool’s official line, as of September 3, is that there is no fixed return date for the France international.
Iraola has effectively offered one.
By placing Ekitike in the squad for the League Phase, the Basque coach is signalling that he expects – or demands – a contribution before the cut-off. Liverpool’s final League Phase fixture, at home to RC Lens on January 27, now looks like a realistic target. The inclusion doesn’t guarantee minutes, but it does reveal faith. You don’t carry an injured striker in a 25-man European squad unless you believe he can influence the campaign.
For a player trying to re-establish himself after a major injury, that faith matters.
Chiesa Left Waiting, Endo Left Behind
The same document that offers Ekitike a pathway back slams a door on two senior pros.
Chiesa, signed to bring direct running and cutting edge from wide areas, is currently sidelined. The Italian is expected to return to training after the September international break, so his omission is not purely medical. Iraola could have kept him in, betting on his recovery. He chose not to.
Endo’s case is even starker. The Japan international is fit, training, and available. He still hasn’t convinced his manager. Leaving a healthy, experienced defensive midfielder out of a Champions League squad is not a clerical oversight; it’s a clear sporting judgment.
Both players already looked on the fringes of Iraola’s plans. This confirms it. With no European football on offer and limited minutes likely in domestic competitions, their Liverpool futures now hang by a thread.
Carragher’s Warning Echoes
Jamie Carragher saw this coming.
Speaking on The Overlap, the former Liverpool defender didn’t sugar-coat his view of the situation. He argued that Liverpool were carrying two players who were “never going to play”, pointing directly at Chiesa and Endo. In a squad constrained by non-homegrown quotas, he questioned the logic of keeping them, even suggesting Endo “should have been moved on” despite acknowledging his cult-hero status.
Iraola’s list reads like an endorsement of that assessment. When the crunch arrived and numbers had to be trimmed, Chiesa and Endo were the ones cut loose.
A Squad List with Sharp Edges
Champions League squad selections always reveal a manager’s hierarchy. This one is blunt.
Ekitike, injured but trusted, is in. Chiesa, on the mend but peripheral, is out. Endo, fully fit yet surplus to requirements, is watching Europe from the outside. For Iraola, this is about clarity: who can help him shape Liverpool in his image, and who sits outside that picture.
The next few months will show whether Ekitike can repay that faith – and whether Chiesa and Endo accept their new reality or push for a way out of Anfield.
