Ndukwe Shines in Pre-Season But Faces Visa Challenges at Liverpool

Virgil van Dijk has seen enough. Eighteen years old, fresh off a move from Austria Wien, and already Ndukwe has forced his way into Andoni Iraola’s pre-season plans. The Liverpool captain has watched the teenager up close this summer – and he does not hide his admiration.

“I saw the games in pre-season in America,” Van Dijk said. “He’s a big talent, big guy and he wants to learn.”

That last part matters at Liverpool. Talent is a prerequisite. Attitude decides whether you stay.

Ndukwe shines, but red tape bites

On the pitch, Ndukwe has done everything asked of him. He has started against Sunderland, Wrexham, Leeds United and Monaco, looking comfortable in senior company and convincing those inside the club that he belongs at this level.

Off the pitch, he has hit a wall.

The stumbling block is the FA’s Governing Body Endorsement (GBE), the points-based system that underpins work visas for overseas players. To qualify, a player needs 15 points across a range of criteria – minutes played, league strength, international involvement and more. Ndukwe does not have them yet.

So, for all his promise, he has to leave.

“I know he has to go on loan I think so let’s see where he ends up,” Van Dijk admitted. “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 market has already reacted. According to The Athletic, the teenager is weighing up strong interest from clubs in the Bundesliga, Portugal and Denmark. A move to a higher-ranked league would not just test him at a better level, it would also accelerate his GBE points tally and smooth a path back to Anfield in 2027.

For Liverpool, it is a strange tension: a defender they like, a defender their captain rates, and a defender they cannot yet keep.

New faces, different stories

Ndukwe is not the only fresh face to catch Van Dijk’s eye at the AXA Training Centre.

Ronald Araujo, on loan from Barcelona, has already been welcomed into the dressing room by the skipper, another high-profile addition to a reshaped defensive unit. Alongside him on the depth chart sits Jeremy Jacquet, though the young centre-back has had a very different start.

Injured and sidelined, Jacquet has been more visible in the corridors than on the grass.

“I’ve not seen any of him,” Van Dijk said of Jacquet’s on-pitch involvement. “I’ve spoken to him. I’ve seen him walking around and we have conversations. 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.”

It is a small line, but it underlines something important: the captain is paying attention. To the loanee from Barcelona. To the teenager stuck in visa limbo. To the injured youngster itching to return.

Munoz brings a new edge up front

While the defensive jigsaw continues to shift, another new signing has already started to change the picture at the other end of the pitch.

Victor Munoz, a £34.5 million arrival from Osasuna, has wasted no time making an impression. He has only just pulled on a Liverpool shirt for the first time, but training sessions have told their own story.

“He started training also on Wednesday,” Van Dijk said. “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.”

Explosive pace, direct running, a different dimension in the final third – Munoz offers something Liverpool’s senior group clearly values as the pre-season schedule winds down.

The picture at Liverpool right now is layered: a teenage centre-back forced out by regulations, another defender closing in on a return from injury, a Barcelona loanee bedding in, and a big-money forward already stretching the pitch.

Van Dijk stands in the middle of it all, setting standards and quietly issuing a challenge: go on loan, get fit, settle quickly – and when you come back or step up, be ready to stay.