When this writer was considering what his Tuesday article could be I almost delved into new head coach Andoni Iraola’s comments following Sunday’s loss to AS Monaco. In them he alluded to how in both the game vs Leeds and AS Monaco showed how the levels of pace and pressing couldn’t be sustained after making substitutions.
It’s obvious to all of us, though, that the squad severely lacks quality depth, so I preferred the idea of celebrating one of Liverpool’s newer signings, 18 year old Austrian central
defender Ifeanyi Ndukwe. Liverpool made their move to bring Ndukwe to the club in January 2026, one that went the way of no fuss and little fanfare.
I also think it’s fair to say we as supporters were too entrenched in the frustrations and despair of the team’s performances at the time to pay much attention to a kid from Austria Wien signing. In any case, Ndukwe began his football career with WAF Brigittenau at the age of five and then moved onto Austria Wien in 2016 where he captained the U-16’s.
The fact he has already shown the character to be a captain is something that adds another level to the quality he has been showing during this pre-season. That’s not to say he hasn’t shown some youthful issues which, in this writer’s opinion, has as much to do with the size of Liverpool FC and the extra pressure that can bring than a sign of poor qualities.
The stretch that particularly highlighted this for me was the second half against Leeds where senior player leadership left the pitch with Dominik Szoboszlai when he was subbed off. With that change vocal organization fell silent and the biggest evidence was giving away two goals from near identical long throws where the defense all moved to the flight of the ball and left the space in front of goal wide open and therefore the goal vulnerable.
I’m not going to dwell on those sorts of negatives, though, because we need more focus on those things that uplift us and Ndukwe has plenty of those. He cuts an imposing figure physically at 6’6”, and when stood beside central defender and club captain Virgil van Dijk, Ndukwe looked his equal whilst still only 18 years old and with more filling out to do.
There are actually a few similarities between them both, with Ndukwe showing calmness when in possession as well good footwork and actively looking for a forward pass rather then a hopeful hoofing of the ball upfield. His recovery speed is impressive and he has some smooth moves and doesn’t just rely on purely making crunching tackles (though he is great at those, too).
The later was perfectly illustrated during the first half against Monaco when, with the ball at his feet, he turned opponent Mika so well that the Monaco player was left on the turf. Another Monaco player was sent up in the air and abruptly back to the turf after suffering a solid challenge from Ndukwe and that moment had me smiling.
The downside at present is that due to the UK’s work permit requirements for young foreign players Ndukwe will have to be loaned out to a European club. The criteria isn’t too complicated and works on a points system which, when achieved, means the player would be eligible to play for their parent club. The target is 15 points and depending on which band the club is in that Ndukwe is loaned to the quicker those points are accrued.
So ideally it would be with a club in the top European leagues, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A or Ligue 1 because they are the Band 1 leagues (top point earners) yet interestingly the EPL is in the next Band but I’m not sure that’s an option Liverpool will look for, especially as playing in the European cups earns extra points.
If the right club comes in and takes Ndukwe on loan there is a possibility that Liverpool would be able to recall him in January as the 15 points should have been acquired. There is the thought that any club that takes Ndukwe on would be aware of this fact so may slow down on the amount of games he plays so they can keep him for the whole season but I’m not going to get that cynical.
With the reported loan of Ronald Araujo happening and the hopefully soon return of Joe Gomez, Giovanni Leoni as well new signing Jeremy Jacquet we might find ourselves in a position where there’s no need to worry about how quickly Ndukwe earns those points.
However, with CL games, domestic cups and the league there are going to be a lot of minutes and as of yet both Leoni and Jacquet have yet to play a single minute in pre-season and Joe is injured (surprise!) I’m intentionally not mentioning much about Araujo because now the loan has been completed their will be other posts about him.
To bring this to a close I hope that just knowing Ndukwe is a Red and a very talented one at that brings some joy to everyone because there is enough to worry about with the squad and the way of the world has us mostly focused on how bad everything is. Ifeanyi Ndukwe may only be 18 and yet to be able to play for our first team but he already has the aura of a future mainstay in our defense and from yesterday’s performance he isn’t wanting to hide in the shadow of our captain Virgil but rather stand in the light of his belief in his own qualities.
