Can Chemsdine Talbi still play in Europa League? Sunderland squad omission and List B rules explained | OneFootball

Sunderland have registered 22 players for the Europa League, with winger Chemsdine Talbi the notable omission.

Talbi is young enough for UEFA’s List B, but there is a second criterion. According to Sunderland Echo, players born on or after 1 January 2005 must also have been eligible for their current club for an uninterrupted two-year period since turning 15.

Born in May 2005, Talbi only joined from Club Brugge in July 2025, so he does not meet that requirement and cannot be added to List B on a game-by-game basis. He therefore needed a List A slot to feature in the league phase and will miss the eight matches.

UEFA permits 25 List A places, but eight are reserved for locally trained players. At least four must be club-trained, with no more than four association-trained. Sunderland have listed Chris Rigg as club-trained, with Simon Moore, Dan Ballard, Luke O’Nien and Romaine Mundle counting as association-trained.

That leaves five locally trained players rather than eight, reducing Sunderland’s usable List A allocation to 22. The three unused places cannot be reassigned to overseas-trained players such as Talbi. Mundle’s English development means he is association-trained, which helps the club’s squad balance.

Talbi could be registered later if Sunderland reach the knockouts. Clubs may add up to three new eligible List A players after the league phase, with changes due by 4 February 2027 and homegrown quotas still in force. Any attempt to include Talbi would need to fit those limits.

Source: Sunderland Echo

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