In recent years some of the biggest football clubs in the world have come to realize that simply having lots of money, talented players, and good managers is not enough to succeed. Talent discovery is also a significant factor. Two years ago, Tony Bloom, who owns a large number of football clubs and recently tried an experiment using an AI computer program to build a European level team at Belgian side Union, had the opportunity to use a new system to develop players for the first time. That model has moved to the top levels of the sport. For instance, two years ago Bayern Munich found Nestory Irankunda, a winger from the Australian league for their first team. A quite unusual pick-up. He currently plays for Watford in England.
Only a few days ago, they signed Barou Sapoko Ndiaye, a 19 year old midfielder from the Gambian Championship on a season long loan. They will watch him through the remainder of the season, and possibly bring him to the club on a permanent basis after the season. There is another example in Spain, with Barcelona interested in signing Al Ahly forward Hamza Abdelkarim, a talent from the Egyptian league. Last week, Fabrizio Romano reported that 17 year old Ifeanyi Ndukwe (from Austria Wien’s second team) is being transferred to Liverpool. We believe this transfer is particularly relevant to our readership because of Ndukwe’s Russian heritage through his mother: the Russian flag is displayed alongside the Nigerian flag (his father’s nationality) and the Austrian flag (the country where he was born), on his social media accounts. His mother is Russian.
Nukdwe’s background is completely unknown based solely on this information; he has never played for any of the Russian clubs, only for the Austria Wien youth teams, and has no other connection to Russia. He is a complete product of the Austria Wien Academy. According to Transfermarkt, Ndukwe is valued at €1 million and lists an additional unique quality; that he is equally effective with both feet and stands at 198 cm tall. The name Ifeanyi is Nigerian and translates as “nothing is impossible for God”. The surname Ndukwe translates as “life in harmony”.
How did Liverpool discover Ndukwe?
Liverpool – terrikon.com
Ndukwe has been somewhat off the radar this summer: no first-team minutes, and internationally, only the U-17 team. It appears Liverpool’s scouts must have discovered him prior to this summer, especially given the long-term need for a center back. It is clear that the attempt to identify a successor to Virgil van Dijk is on-going at Anfield, as evidenced by Liverpool signing 19 year old Giovanni Leoni from Parma in August, just like Ndukwe, Leoni is tall, strong physically, wins duels, and while not exceptionally skilled with the ball, fits the profile of a typical Van Dijk type. Ndukwe likely sat on a list of potential successors for Van Dijk and waited for an opportunity — the U-17 World Cup in November provided that opportunity.
Ndukwe’s performance at the tournament was exceptional, as Austria advanced to the final and Ndukwe stood out with his incredible size, winning every aerial duel and intercepting nearly every pass. Ndukwe’s duel success percentage was 79%, an incredibly high number. It is easy to attribute Ndukwe’s success to his height alone, as Ndukwe is significantly taller than most of his opponents and, similar to many African players, is physically superior to his peers at a young age. What makes Ndukwe’s situation so attractive is not only the height advantage he has over his opponents, but how intelligent Ndukwe is using his body. He does not sacrifice speed, is not overly aggressive, does not jump into every duel, but rather chooses when to engage, and reads the game extremely well. Ndukwe is calm under pressure and able to play the ball out effectively.
At the senior level (albeit in the reserve team), Ndukwe averages 14 ball recoveries, 6.5 interceptions, 5.4 long passes per game, and a duel success rate of 78%. Ndukwe even scored against England! A lot of great material for coaches to work with. As a result, Liverpool made an offer, reportedly in the range of €3-€5 million. Journalists are already drawing comparisons between the Nigerian and Smalling and Pique, and scouts were raving about him after the World Cup. We can all hope quietly that Ndukwe may one day play for Russia, as he qualifies for citizenship by descent.
It is also interesting to note that only two months ago Ndukwe gave an interview stating that his idol is Van Dijk and that he always dreamed of playing in the Premier League for either Chelsea or Liverpool.
