'A perfect fit' - Liverpool confirm deal to sign highly-rated centre-back Ifeanyi Ndukwe from Austria Vienna

Liverpool announced the news in a statement on the club's website that reads: "Liverpool have agreed a deal in principle to sign Ifeanyi Ndukwe from Austria Vienna, subject to international clearance. The Austrian-born defender, who turns 18 in March, will link up with the Reds' U21 squad in the summer. Ndukwe has represented his country at youth level and appeared in all but one of their matches at the 2025 U17 World Cup, where they finished as runners-up. A regular for the reserve side of Austria Vienna, he has been part of their senior team's matchday squad on nine occasions this season. " 

Austria Vienna sporting director Michael Wagner shared his thoughts on the agreement. He told the club's media: "It is a great honour that one of the world's best football clubs has shown interest in one of our home-grown players. The agreement with Liverpool FC is structured in such a way that Austria Wien will come out well in any scenario, regardless of whether the option is exercised or not. For me, this is a clear win-win situation for both clubs. Above all, this story is a great tribute to the excellent work that is done in our academy every day. We have a number of players here with enormous potential, which we want to exploit even more in future and thus become a springboard for talented players into Europe's top leagues – Austria Wien is the right club for this. We were aware that there would be a lot of interest in our three U17 team players in particular after they reached the World Cup final. Basically, our goal is for our talented players to first establish themselves in the first team and thus recommend themselves for higher tasks. In this case, the overall package – both Liverpool FC's offer to Austria and the prospects for Ifeanyi Ndukwe – was a perfect fit for everyone involved."

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Liverpool have been keen to commit more resources to strengthening their academy by bringing in exciting young talents, according to The Athletic.  Ndukwe caught Liverpool's eye at the Under-17s World Cup in Qatar in November and is expected to cost the Reds around £2.5 million. The defender was part of an Austria team that went all the way to the final before being beaten by Portugal. The youngster will now link up with Rob Page’s under-21s development team initially, but the hope will be that he can make the step up into the first team at some point in the future. Defence is certainly an issue for Arne Slot, with Ibrahima Konate and Andy Robertson both out of contract in the summer and 34-year-old Virgil van Dijk heading towards the end of his career.

Ndukwe will finish the season with Austria Vienna before making the switch to Anfield at the end of the season. Liverpool atre expected to be in the market again for defenders in the summer in a bid to bolster their backline after missing out on Marc Guehi.