Liverpool ramps up global youth recruitment with Ndiaye and Ndukwe signings
September 29, 2026 09:41
Liverpool has sharpened its global recruitment for young players, appointing Matt Newberry to lead a larger role for the club's global talent department since the winter of 2024 and targeting overseas prospects as it rebuilds its youth ranks.
The club signed 18-year-old centre-back Mor Talla Ndiaye from Senegal in January this year for around £1m plus add-ons after scouts spotted him at the U17 World Cup in Qatar. Ndiaye — who progressed through Bousports Academy and Amitie Football Club in Thies — trained with Liverpool in pre-season, was an unused substitute three times in the second half of last season, and is described by U21 coach Rob Page as "an incredible story" who is "nowhere near the finished article" but has the right attitude.
Liverpool also signed 18-year-old Austrian centre-back Ifeanyi Ndukwe after the U17 World Cup for £2.6m. Ndukwe featured in pre-season and has been loaned to Levante in La Liga while he seeks a UK work permit.
KEY CONTEXT
Since 2020 Liverpool have generated more than £230m from sales of players who had represented the club at youth level — a key element of owner Fenway Sports Group's self-sustaining model, with proceeds reinvested into the squad. That commercial backdrop, plus a surge in the value of young English players and post-Brexit restrictions, has pushed Liverpool to broaden recruitment internationally.
FIFA rules prohibit international transfers of players under 18, and Premier League clubs can no longer sign under-18 players from European countries since Brexit. Newberry's team, supported by a network of regional scouts and sporting director Julian Ward's global contacts, now plays a major part in identifying which overseas teenagers the club should pursue.
INSIDE THE PROCESS
Liverpool's recruitment of Ndiaye involved video calls with the player and his representatives, a scouting trip to Senegal to watch where he trained and to meet those involved in his development, and a round-table meeting with his family. Academy director Alex Inglethorpe told BBC Sport the club's "first intention is that we want them to play in the first team" and that national recruitment begins at 14 before the club broadens its search globally.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Ndiaye remains in Liverpool's development pathway as he continues his adaptation; Ndukwe will spend time on loan at Levante as part of the process to secure a UK work permit.