Ndukwe at Levante: The Background and Prospects

"We want him to come back next season a better, stronger, more complete defender. The move to Levante is about giving him that opportunity. He needs regular minutes, tough games, and the responsibility of playing professional football week in, week out," says Liverpool coach Andoni Iraola.

Ndukwe was an ever-present for the "Reds" during pre-season, and now the goal is to obtain a work permit for competitive matches with Liverpool. To do this, the youngster must accumulate at least 15 points in a complicated system.

Return in Winter Possible

In this respect, Levante is a smart choice, as the centre-back will be credited with twelve points just by being called up to the matchday squad for a LaLiga game. If he then actually plays, another six points are added.

With his first step onto the pitch in a LaLiga game, Ndukwe would have accumulated enough points to obtain a work permit in England and be eligible to play for Liverpool. This could happen as early as Monday; Ndukwe is expected to be in the squad for Levante's away game against Osasuna (Mon, 7:30 PM in the LIVE ticker).

A return in winter would therefore be possible. In fact, the English club has the option to terminate the loan deal early in winter.

That Liverpool is counting on the young Austrian is evidenced not least by the fact that Levante was not granted an option to buy. Levante, by the way, noticed "Ify" back in autumn at the U17 World Cup, and the Spaniards have had him on their radar ever since.

The fight against relegation. No major leaps are expected from the "Granotes," the "Frogs."

The club from Valencia returned to Spain's top flight in summer 2025 after three years in the second division and spent large parts of last season in the relegation zone before managing to climb above the line in a nail-biting finish in the penultimate round.

Possessive Football in Front of Around 20,000 Fans

Nevertheless, coach Luis Castro is known as a proponent of possession-based football and places great importance on organised build-up play. Ndukwe will therefore not only be able to measure himself against world-class attacking players like Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Vinicius Junior, and co., but will also face challenges when playing with the ball.

Levante is the clear number two in Spain's third-largest city, behind local rivals Valencia CF. Around 20,000 fans typically attend home games at the Estadi Ciutat de València.

Luis Castro, a man known for developing young players, sits on Levante's bench.

In the 0-3 defeat against Espanyol to start the new season, Luis Castro brought on 15-year-old left-back Marc Santos as early as the 64th minute.

His rule: if a 19-year-old and a 29-year-old are equally good, the younger player plays. At the same time, the Portuguese, who is considered introverted but very direct in his communication, certainly doesn't hand out free passes.

Triumph with Benfica

The 46-year-old has no notable playing career to speak of, starting early in youth football during his sports studies, where he earned his stripes for a long time – as a coach, scout, and coordinator. In 2022, he led Benfica's U19 to triumph in the UEFA Youth League.

His professional coaching career truly began in 2023 – aside from a rather unfortunate Greek adventure with Panetolikos in 2019. Two years in France's Ligue 2 with Dunkerque, where he reached the Coupe de France semi-finals, were followed by a stint with top-flight club Nantes, before he took over at Levante shortly before Christmas 2025.

Not much is left of last season's central defence. Ever-present Matias Moreno was recalled by Fiorentina and loaned out to Venezia, where he is, by the way, supposed to fill the void left by Michael Svoboda's departure to Brighton.

Veteran Unai Elgezabal did not receive a new contract, and the loan of left-footed Alan Matturro has ended, with him returning to Genoa.

Right-footed Adrian Dela remains – the 27-year-old already has over 100 games for Levante under his belt. Additionally, Jorge Cabello has returned after a six-month loan spell from Mirandes. However, the 22-year-old is not expected to fill the role of the left-sided centre-back as a regular starter, which is why a new signing is still expected in that position.

A Veteran as a New Signing in "Ify's" Position

At the start of the season, an interesting summer transfer, Aissa Mandi, played there.

The 34-year-old Algerian has 122 international caps (four of which were full 90-minute appearances at the 2026 World Cup). A seasoned veteran with plenty of experience in LaLiga and Ligue 1, from whom Ndukwe can certainly learn a lot.

Ndukwe's Chances

All in all, the competition for the right-sided centre-back position, for which Ndukwe was brought in, is not insignificant.

However, Levante is reportedly not overly satisfied with new signing Mandi so far. Ndukwe has been brought in as a serious challenger. Therefore, plenty of playing time is quite possible.

Ndukwe is the second Austrian to wear the Levante jersey. In the summer of 2013, Andreas Ivanschitz, then 29, joined the Valencian club on a free transfer after four years at Mainz.

"A long-held dream," said the Burgenland native about the move to the Spanish top flight. The attacking player stayed for two seasons before moving to the USA to the Seattle Sounders, as Levante exercised the option to terminate his contract a year early.

The Third Coach Didn't Trust Him

Ivanschitz finished tenth and 14th with Levante, making 51 competitive appearances and recording five goals and ten assists.

He was always part of the extended first team until he hardly featured at all in spring 2015 under coach Lucas Alcaraz – his third coach at Levante.