Van Dijk Praises Young Talent Ndukwe Ahead of Loan Move
Virgil van Dijk has seen enough. In a handful of pre-season games, 18-year-old centre-back Ndukwe has convinced Liverpool’s captain he belongs at the top level – even as bureaucracy forces him out of Anfield before he has truly arrived.
Van Dijk hails “big talent” Ndukwe
Ndukwe, signed earlier this year after a deal with Austria Wien, has been a constant presence in Andoni Iraola’s pre-season plans. Tall, aggressive, eager to learn – he has made himself hard to ignore.
“Obviously I saw the games in pre-season in America,” Van Dijk said of the teenager. “He’s a big talent, big guy and he wants to learn and I had a brief conversation with him, especially in the last couple of days. For him it is just progressing.”
Then came the frustration.
“I know he has to go on loan I think so let’s see where he ends up. Yeah [it’s a shame he has to move on loan]. I don’t know exactly what the rules are, but the matter of fact is that he has to go on loan and wherever he goes, he needs to learn, get better and be ready when he comes back to hopefully stay there.”
The “rules” are the FA’s Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) regulations. To secure a work visa, a player must reach 15 points across set performance criteria. Ndukwe, still only 18 and coming from Austria, does not yet meet that mark.
Paperwork is the only thing slowing him down. On the pitch, he has impressed in starts against Sunderland, Wrexham, Leeds United and Monaco, performances that have quickly pushed his reputation beyond academy level.
According to The Athletic, he now has strong offers from clubs across Europe, with interest from the Bundesliga, Portugal and Denmark. A loan to a higher-ranked league would speed up his point accumulation and keep Liverpool on track for their plan: bring him back in 2027 with the GBE hurdles cleared and a far more seasoned defender returning through the door.
New faces at the back: Araujo and Jacquet
Ndukwe is not the only new defender Van Dijk has been watching closely at the AXA Training Centre.
Ronald Araujo has arrived on loan from Barcelona and has already been embraced by the Liverpool captain, who has taken a central role in integrating the Uruguay international into the squad. The on-pitch partnership will come later; the groundwork is being laid now.
Jeremy Jacquet, though, has had to wait. The young centre-back is currently sidelined, and Van Dijk has only been able to track his progress off the grass.
“I’ve not seen any of [Jacquet]. I’ve spoken to him. I’ve seen him walking around and we have conversations,” Van Dijk said. “I’m not a doctor, so I don’t know exactly the situation, but I have a feeling this week he could be back on the pitch, and hopefully as soon as possible.”
For Iraola, that potential return would add yet another option to a defensive unit being rebuilt on the fly.
Munoz brings pace and punch in attack
At the other end of the pitch, Victor Munoz has wasted no time making an impression.
Signed from Osasuna in a £34.5m deal, the attacker has only just pulled on a Liverpool shirt for the first time but has already forced his way into the conversation inside the dressing room. Senior players have taken note of his intensity in training and the raw speed he brings to the front line.
“He started [training] also on Wednesday,” Van Dijk confirmed. “He is very fast and it has been good to see the kind of quality he can bring to the club, and I think he had a great reception. It is just for him to carry that on to the next.”
That “next” is clear enough: from eye-catching cameos in pre-season to delivering when the real games start.
For Liverpool, this summer has been about transition under a new manager, but also about glimpses of what might come. An 18-year-old centre-back forced to grow elsewhere before returning, a Barcelona loanee bedding in, a sidelined prospect edging back, and a £34.5m forward already stretching defences in training.
The paperwork will decide where Ndukwe plays his football in the short term. The way Van Dijk talks about him suggests Liverpool already know where they expect his story to end.
