Liverpool have signed defender Ifeanyi Ndukwe from Austria Vienna, with the tenager's club confirming the structure of a deal that will commence in the summer
Ifeanyi Ndukwe will join the Reds next summer
Ifeanyi Ndukwe will join the Reds next summer(Image: Jurij Kodrun - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
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Liverpool have completed the signing of talented Austrian centre-back Ifeanyi Ndukwe, who will join the Reds in the summer.
Ndukwe, 17, starred at the recent Under-17 World Cup as he helped Austria reach the final, with his club Austria Vienna confirming the structure of the deal for their homegrown talent on Monday evening.
The club said in a statement: "Liverpool FC has secured the option to sign Austria Vienna'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."
Club sporting director Michael Wagner said: "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 Vienna 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 Vienna 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."