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Photo by Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
The names are mostly as expected but there’s a new contract on offer for Adrian and some unexpected youth players released this summer.
There aren’t many surprises this summer in Liverpool’s official retained list, with the club having this week submitted their annual documentation to the Premier League outlining the players they plan on retaining heading into the 2024-25 season.
As confirmed towards the end of the season, 32-year-old centre half Joël Matip and 33-year-old midfielder Thiago Alcantara are not part of the club’s future plans and so with their contracts having expired at the end of May the duo will now move on.
For Matip, it’s the end of eight seasons in Red that see him depart as arguably the club’s greatest ever free signing with over 200 games played and having been a key part of the club winning every major trophy on offer during the Jürgen Klopp era.
For Thiago, it’s the end of a four-year spell that gave fans glimpses of the world class talent he is but also saw his injury record—a career-long issue for him—grow increasingly worse, culminating in a 2023-24 season with just a single appearance.
There are no other noteworthy departures amongst senior squad members from last year, but there is a surprise not on the list, with the club extending a new contract offer to third-choice goalkeeper Adrian and including him on the retained list.
Whether or not Adrian remains at the club, though, is an open question, as the player had previously signalled he was considering a return to Spain that might allow him to see minutes as a starter—or at least second choice—before his career ends.
Equally surprising for many will be the release of a pair of youngsters, with 20-year-olds Melkamu Frauendorf and Mateusz Musialowski—who arrived as the “Polish Messi”—being allowed to move on in search of clearer paths to first team football.
Player development can be far from linear, but both found themselves falling down the pecking order at the U21 level for Liverpool last season, surpassed by younger players who at times were even forcing their way onto the fringes of the first team.
Reserve and youth players Adam Lewis, Nathan Giblin, Francis Gyimah, Luke Hewitson, Niall Osborne, and Cody Pennington have also their release confirmed. Currently out of contract, Jacob Poytress and Reece Trueman have been offered new deals.
