A press report stated on Wednesday that Liverpool has received what could be described as a punishment, years after a prominent political event on the European continent.
Brexit, the referendum on Britain's exit from the European Union in early 2020, transformed the English transfer market overnight. Stars of European nations suddenly counted as foreign players, and their prices soared as a result.
The Premier League did find loopholes to speed up work permit procedures. The system is far from flawless, though, and Ivanhoe Ndukwe, born in Vienna in 2008, is now paying the price.
Ndukwe first made his name at the recent Under-17 World Cup. Alongside Johannes Moser, he anchored an Austrian side that lost narrowly to Portugal in the final.
Austria had conceded only one goal in the entire tournament up to that point, against New Zealand in the group stage. Ndukwe also found the net against England in the round of 16.
Ndukwe: a future investment for Liverpool
His displays did not go unnoticed. Liverpool moved quickly to sign him as a future investment, paying three million euros to Austria Vienna for a player who had yet to make a single official appearance for them. His debut came only last May, one of the main reasons Liverpool cannot register him as a first-team player.
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Ndukwe, who turned eighteen last March, does not meet the conditions for a work permit in the United Kingdom.
Since Britain left the European Union, foreign players need the Football Association's approval to obtain a work visa.
A points system decides that approval, with a minimum of 15 points required, and it primarily rewards appearances in major leagues. The higher a player's UEFA ranking, the more points they collect.
That is not the only route. Clubs can also use what is known as the "Elite Significant Contribution" positions, handed to players who fall short under the "Points Based System".
Only four such positions exist, determined by how much English players featured for the team the previous season. A player needs to reach 35% of playing minutes, but Liverpool fell short of that mark and secured just one position, which went to Mor Talla Ndiaye.
Liverpool knew all this and had planned to loan Ndukwe out. Then Andoni Iraola turned to him during pre-season, forced by a spate of injuries in central defence to Joe Gomez, Jaki and Leoni, and the youngster impressed everyone.
Van Dijk's successor at Liverpool
Van Dijk, who partnered him in central defence, said after the Monaco match: "He is a great talent and he wants to learn. I spoke to him briefly over the past few days."
Liverpool lost that day, yet Ndukwe showed at Anfield exactly why he could succeed Van Dijk.
He stands 1.98 metres tall, but moves with a lightness that echoes Virgil, covering a vast area of the pitch, dominating aerial balls and, most importantly, unsettling opponents by his mere presence.
In the first half against Monaco alone, he made six defensive interventions and won every duel, 4/4. He also misplaced just one pass, 23/24.
None of it looked like the work of an inexperienced eighteen-year-old at the elite level. Van Dijk, for his part, accepts the short-term situation with good grace.
"I know he will be loaned out, and that is a shame," he said. "I don't know the rules exactly, but the truth is he will be loaned out, and wherever he goes, he has to learn, develop and be ready for his return."
His agent framed the move as a positive, calling the loan "a golden opportunity for Ndukwe" and pointing out that "major European clubs have shown great interest in him".
Liverpool want him to collect the necessary points as quickly as possible so he can return next January. The club knows Ndukwe's value, though, and wants to get the decision right without stalling his development.