18-year-old centre-back Ifeanyi Ndukwe has been so impressive in pre-season for Liverpool that supporters are genuinely upset that he will not be allowed to play for the club this season. Or will he?
Due to work permit issues, Ndukwe must spend the 2026/27 season on loan to accumulate the necessary points to qualify for a UK work permit, at which point he will be legally permitted to play for the Reds.
Until then, however, Liverpool are scouring the European market for an ideal loan opportunity. Given how highly rated the 6 ft 6 teenager is, they will be keen to make sure wherever he goes will be a chance to develop and not stagnate. The Reds will have learned a valuable lesson after the Harvey Elliott and Aston Villa fiasco last season.
Fabrizio Romano reports on X: “Ifeanyi Ndukwe will leave Liverpool on loan from next week, plan decided. Proposals already arrived from Portugal and not only, up to the player and #LFC to pick best solution.”
??? Ifeanyi Ndukwe will leave Liverpool on loan from next week, plan decided.
Proposals already arrived from Portugal and not only, up to the player and #LFC to pick best solution. pic.twitter.com/fcjY0lYJiu
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 11, 2026
Where could Ndukwe go on loan for the 2026/27 season?
Given how talented and promising Ndukwe is, with his physical attributes enough to impress, it should come as no surprise to hear that he will have plenty of options to choose from when deciding his loan transfer over the next couple of weeks.
According to The Athletic‘s James Pearce and Gregg Evans, the teenager already has “strong offers” from clubs in France, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Denmark and Germany.
They wrote in the Transfer Dealsheet: “Ifeanyi Ndukwe is expected to leave after the friendly with Como on Sunday. The 18-year-old Austrian centre-back has impressed this summer and is weighing up strong offers from Portugal, Germany and Denmark while other clubs in Belgium, France and Spain remain interested.
“Ndukwe also has offers back in his homeland but is focused on a new challenge elsewhere in Europe.”
How could Ndukwe play for Liverpool this season despite work permit problems?
Excitingly, there is a faint chance that Ndukwe could return to Liverpool in January with a work permit legally permitting him to play his football as a professional in the United Kingdom.
This is Anfield reported last week: “Ndukwe has to be sent on loan to accumulate the necessary points to receive a Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) from the FA, which Liverpool will then use to obtain a work visa.
“To qualify automatically, Ndukwe needs to score 15 points across several categories, and that means Liverpool need to find a club in a Band 1-3 league that will give the defender minutes.”
If Ndukwe can find the right club, he could reach the threshold required and rack up enough points to qualify, at which point he will be able to return to Merseyside.
The likeliest scenario is that Ndukwe will remain on loan for the entirety of the 2026/27 season, with his development as a young player far more important than seeing him in Liverpool red as asoon as possible.