The Premier League today released the lists of retained players for all 20 clubs, and there’s little surprising about the first team players missing from Liverpool’s. Only first three names aren’t on the list of players the club have under contract and intend to keep on the books for another year, and those are Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, and Brad Jones.
There will be surprises as transfer season rolls along, but for now Liverpool’s first team outgoing list rather unsurprisingly begins and ends with those two. The two officially remain Liverpool players for the remainder of the months, with contracts set to roll over—and their current deals set to expire—at the end of June. At that point, Gerrard will officially become an LA Galaxy player.
Johnson, meanwhile, will be without club. Despite rumours of Roma interest and the player being free to sign, Johnson has yet to decide where he will play next. Jones similarly doesn’t have a club lined up, and for a time it was assumed he would remain at Liverpool. The club’s desire to add goalkeeping depth, though, would have pushed him to third choice and resulted in him deciding to leave.
The three senior players are joined by a pair of youths who will not be retained, with 20-year-olds Jordan Lussey and Marc Pelosi both being released by the club. Both had for a time appeared promising albeit fringe prospects. Lussey had been in Liverpool’s academy system for over a decade. Pelosi was spotted by scouts when he impressed with the United States at the U17 World Cup.
Lussey spent time on loan at Bolton last season and may end up there long term, while for Pelosi, after a series of injuries that set back his development, the future is less clear.