Liverpool FC secures buy option for Ifeanyi Ndukwe

Liverpool FC has secured the option to sign Austria Wien's home-grown talent Ifeanyi Ndukwe during the upcoming summer transfer window. This option can be exercised until the end of June 2026. The tall centre-back has been a Violet since the age of seven and has played for all of Austria's youth and academy teams.

Despite his young age, Ifeanyi Ndukwe has already become an important piece of the Young Violets' defence. The defender has gained his first experience in professional football in seven appearances in the 2nd division this season, and also played 13 games in the third tier Regionalliga Ost last season.

In November, the home-grown Violet was one of the key players in Austrias U17 national team's World Cup final run. Since the summer of 2025, the 17-year-old has also been a permanent fixture in the first team squad and has been training with Aleksandar Dragović & Co. Ndukwe will continue to play for the Violets until the summer.

Sporting director Michael Wagner: "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."