Liverpool have reportedly agreed a deal in principle to bring Ifeanyi Ndukwe to the club, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The Merseysiders are understood to have secured a transfer – ahead of the summer window – for the 17-year-old centre-back.
This comes amid the club’s ongoing push to bolster the ranks with Europe’s top young talent.
Liverpool to sign Ifeanyi Ndukwe from Austria Wien
Romano shared the update in question on X (formerly Twitter), with the Austrian outfit understood to have officially confirmed the deal.
🚨✅ Liverpool agree deal in principle to sign Ifeanyi Ndukwe from Austria Vienna, club confirms. https://t.co/vYYXtOekn2
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 26, 2026
The 17-year-old has featured eight times for Wien’s youth team in the 2025/26 season, collecting 548 minutes of action.
Ndukwe already stands at a towering 6′ 5″ (Transfermarkt) despite his relative youth.
Ndukwe does not solve Liverpool’s three-man problem
Liverpool, it should go without saying at this point, have a three-man centre-back problem.
Virgil van Dijk (whose contract runs until the summer of 2027) will sit at the heart of our backline forever. The club desperately needs to consider potential long-term successors for our greatest modern centre-back.
Ibrahima Konate’s future is considerably more uncertain, given that ongoing contract talks have yet to show any signs of yielding a favourable conclusion for Arne Slot’s men.
And then there is the issue of Giovanni’s long-term ACL injury. One hopes it will not turn out to be a case of what could have been for the Italian (who looked phenomenal during his Carabao Cup display against Southampton).
Allegedly, Liverpool are said to be looking at options in the market, including Club Brugge’s Joel Ordonez, but these aren’t considered January signings.
Joe Gomez makes it four?
Where to begin with the Englishman! Arne Slot saw his defensive options further diminish after Joe Gomez picked up a knock after a collision with goalkeeper Alisson Becker during the 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth.
A freak accident? Of course. But it’s yet another reminder of the former Charlton academy prospect’s remarkable fragility and unreliability.
Liverpool need availability and, certainly in the case of Van Dijk, longevity.
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Building for the future but the immediate future remains bleak with only van dijk as the senior centerback.
LFC have decided the season is all over. That’s why they’re not spending in this window. Expensive buys last summer are all apparently duds except Hugo. That leaves little in the kitty to match City for Guehi & Semenyo. What a mess-up by Edwards, Hughes & Slot!
They are saving the transfer kitty for the new head coach. Hope we still get ucl next season. Will be terrible for the next gaffer if we don’t.