Liverpool centre-back Amara Nallo set to join HJK Helsinki on loan

Young Liverpool defender Amara Nallo is set to join Finnish club HJK Helsinki on a season-long loan.

The 19-year-old centre-back was left out of Andoni Iraola’s squad for the club’s pre-season tour of the United States as he was in the process of finalising a temporary move.

HJK were keen to get him on board and Liverpool believe playing regular senior football will boost Nallo’s development after a difficult introduction to first-team action. Based in Finland’s capital of Helsinki, HJK are the nation’s most successful club and have won a record 33 top flight titles.

Nallo was sent off just four minutes after coming on for his debut against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League in January 2025.

The former West Ham United youngster also suffered the same fate on his next senior outing against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup nine months later. Since then he has largely been involved with the club’s under-21s with his only other first-team appearance arriving against Qarabag in the Champions League in January.

With captain Virgil van Dijk still on holiday following the World Cup and Giovanni Leoni still doing rehab following a serious knee injury, Joe Gomez and summer signing Jeremy Jacquet are the two fit and available senior centre-backs on the current tour of the U.S.

Ifeanyi Ndukwe, who arrived from Austria Vienna for £2.5million last month, provides cover, along with Senegal youth international Mor Talla Ndiaye, who was given the green light to fly out to the US and link up with the squad after a visa issue was sorted out.

Meanwhile, young Liverpool goalkeeper Armin Pecsi has passed his medical and is on the brink of joining Austrian Bundesliga outfit TSV Hartberg on a season-long loan.

Pecsi, who was an unused substitute at first-team level on five occasions in 2025-26, has impressed since joining Liverpool from Hungarian club Puskas Akademia last summer.

Liverpool Under-21s midfielder Kyle Kelly has joined National League outfit Forest Green Rovers on loan until January.