Liverpool have signed French forward Djylian N'Guessan from Saint-Etienne. The 18-year-old is set to officially join the club on a permanent transfer in January.
LONDON — Liverpool have signed French forward Djylian N'Guessan from Saint-Etienne. The 18-year-old is set to officially join the club on a permanent transfer in January.
N'Guessan will be loaned to Ligue 1 club Brest for the first half of the season, and Liverpool will make a decision in January whether to leave him in France or to bring him to Anfield, or loan him somewhere else for the rest of the season.
Come January, Fabian Mrozek’s loan at FC Cincinnati will have finished, so there will be a loan space available. He would also be eligible for a work permit to play in the UK by then.
The teenager rose through Saint-Étienne's academy to appear 13 times for their senior team and score one goal, having debuted in January 2025. He made 13 senior appearances for Saint-Étienne in total, with several coming in the campaign before last.
In that time, he scored one goal, but he is the second-youngest player to represent the French side.
At the international level, the attacker played in seven matches for France at the 2025 U20 World Cup en route to a fourth-place finish. He was also named in the Team of the Tournament at last summer's U17 European Championship after netting four goals.
Previously, he scored 12 goals in 14 games at the U16 level and then 11 in 11 at the U17 level, and has long been identified as a player to watch.
The Reds have signed a number of youngsters in recent years, such as Ifeanyi Ndukwe, Mor Talla Ndiaye, Armin Pesci, Samuel Martinez, and Lucca Brughmans.
Earlier, Liverpool submitted their 25-man Premier League squad list for the first stage of the 2026-27 season.
According to Premier League regulations, each club's squad must contain no more than 17 players who do not fulfil the 'homegrown player' criteria. The rest of the squad, up to a total of 25 players, must be homegrown.
A 'homegrown player' means a player who, irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to the Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21).