Liverpool have reportedly confirmed the timeline for one star to return to the club. That's the result of talks this week.
Liverpool have issues at centre-back. That's simply undeniable at this point and while they're not feeling the effects right at this moment, it's only a matter of time.
That's because they've got themselves into a situation where two of five first-team centre-backs are contracted to Liverpool beyond this season. Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni. The latter of whom hasn't played competitive football in over a year now.
Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, two experienced senior options, are both out of contract next summer. We certainly don't expect both to renew - there's a very solid chance that neither do.
Then there's Ronald Araujo, too. He's only on loan and Liverpool would need to activate an expensive buy clause in order to get him beyond this campaign. The jury is out on whether that will happen but we'll have some sort of idea in a few months' time.
Liverpool hold Ifeanyi Ndukwe talks
Ifeanyi Ndukwe had a fantastic pre-season with Liverpool. It was enough that Levante were willing to give him regular football in La Liga - a massive step up for the Austrian.
This was something Liverpool were massively in favour of and not just for the player's development. Ndukwe didn't qualify for a work-permit as he wasn't established in a top league but just a few months with Levante has seen him qualify.
That brings about the big question: do Liverpool bring him back in in January? It appears they've held talks with Levante about exactly this, with journalist Nacho Sanchis confirming it.
However, Ndukwe will not return this season. Liverpool will instead let the player stay in Spain, getting as much game time as possible with Levante before returning in the summer.
We imagine this will allow the player to get experience under his belt before taking over from Van Dijk, Araujo or Gomez for next season. That, honestly, is exactly the correct plan and we can't wait to see what kind of player returns to Anfield in 2027.