Liverpool centre-back Amara Nallo joins HJK Helsinki on season-long loan

Liverpool centre-back Amara Nallo is moving to Finnish club HJK Helsinki on a season-long loan as the 19-year-old seeks regular first-team football following a difficult start to his Anfield career.

Nallo was excluded from manager Andoni Iraola's pre-season squad for Liverpool's U.S. tour while finalizing the temporary switch. The move comes after the defender received red cards in his first two senior appearances for the club — sent off four minutes into his debut against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League in January 2025, and again nine months later in a Carabao Cup match against Crystal Palace.

Since those dismissals, Nallo has largely featured for Liverpool's under-21s, with only one additional first-team appearance arriving in a Champions League fixture against Qarabag in January. HJK, based in Finland's capital, are the country's most successful club with 33 domestic titles.

Liverpool's defensive ranks have been stretched during pre-season, with captain Virgil van Dijk still on holiday following the World Cup and Giovanni Leoni sidelined by a serious knee injury. Centre-backs Joe Gomez and summer signing Jeremy Jacquet are currently the only fit senior options available on the U.S. tour. Cover has been provided by recent arrivals Ifeanyi Ndukwe, who joined from Austria Vienna for £2.5 million, and Senegal youth international Mor Talla Ndiaye.

The loan move aligns with Liverpool's broader pre-season activity. Young goalkeeper Armin Pecsi has passed his medical and is close to joining Austrian Bundesliga club TSV Hartberg on a season-long loan after impressing since his arrival from Hungarian club Puskas Akademia last summer. Under-21s midfielder Kyle Kelly has joined National League side Forest Green Rovers on loan until January.