Ifeanyi Ndukwe of Austria celebrate after the team’s victory in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup Round of 16 match between Austria and England at Aspire Academy(Image: 2025 FIFA)
Ifeanyi Ndukwe is set to join Liverpool ahead of Inter Milan. But his looming move to the Premier League champions has prompted a mixed response from his international manager.
The Reds are poised to sign the 17-year-old from Austria Vienna, though he will not make the move to England until the summer. The Austria youth international, who does not turn 18 until March, would initially be brought in as part of Rob Page’s Under-21s squad, but he is viewed as a teenager with the potential to eventually make the grade at senior level.
Ndukwe recently shone for Austria at FIFA U-17 World Cup as they lost 1-0 to Portugal in the final, with the starlet scoring as they thrashed England 4-0 in the round-of-16.
And Austria Under-18s manager Hermann Stadler is pleased for the defender, insisting Ndukwe is fully-deserving of his move to Anfield.
However, the 64-year-old admits that such a switch is still a gamble for the teenager and that he would have preferred him to stay put in Austria a little while longer.
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“I’m extremely happy for Ify, he deserves it because he has made enormous progress in the last year,” Stadler told LAOLA1.
“In seven games (at the World Cup) he delivered a top performance in every single one. Just look at the number of goals we conceded – we only conceded two, one in the final and one against New Zealand. That speaks volumes about his defensive work.
“He received this offer from Liverpool partly because of the World Cup. He had also previously received an offer from Inter Milan, which, for whatever reason, was not finalised.
“I’m very happy that he’s signed with a top club. Personally, I think – and this is just my personal opinion, it doesn’t mean it’s right – it might have been good for him to stay at Austria for another year.
“He could learn alongside an experienced player like (Aleksandar) Dragovic and perhaps then go abroad at 18 or 19.
“He has no guarantee that he’ll make it big, neither at Austria nor at Liverpool. We’ll know more in two or three years.
“But I believe he has the potential to become a truly great centre-back.”
