Ifeanyi Ndukwe closing in on LaLiga loan move; Liverpool likely to include January break clause

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Liverpool defender Ifeanyi Ndukwe is reportedly ‘very close’ to securing a loan exit from Anfield for the 2026/27 season.The 18-year-old was one of the Reds’ standout players during their pre-season fixtures, delivering several excellent performances as he took full advantage of the absences of first-team centre-backs through injury and post-World Cup downtime.He isn’t able to play competitively for Andoni Iraola’s side just yet as he doesn’t qualify for a UK work permit, although he hasn’t been short of suitors off the back of his recent displays, and one club now appear to have won the race to sign him.Ndukwe close to sealing loan move to LevanteAs reported by Radio Marca in Valencia, LaLiga club Levate are ‘very close to finalising’ a loan move for Ndukwe for the season.The news has since been corroborated by several of the most trusted journalists covering Liverpool, including Paul Joyce, Paul Gorst and David Lynch, with the latter stating that the deal is ‘expected to contain’ a break clause which’d allow for the Austrian to return to Anfield in January.Gorst mentioned that the Reds had been ‘inundated with loan proposals’ for the 18-year-old after his superb performances in pre-season.Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustLevante loan move seems ideal for NdukweIt wasn’t a question of whether Ndukwe would get a loan move for the campaign, but rather when and to which club.As explained in detail by data analyst and football scout Liam Henshaw, eligibility for a UK work permit is determined by a point system for obtaining a Governing Body Endorsement (GBE), with a series of criteria set out as to how the requisite points quota can be accrued.Factors such as the number of minutes played, the strength of the domestic league in which a player is operating, participation in Europe and national team appearances are all considered, and a move to Levante would seem favourable for the defender and for Liverpool.LaLiga is in the uppermost bracket (Band 1) of domestic leagues for GBE classification, so if Ndukwe starts regularly for Los Azulgranas, that could get him most of the way towards the 15-point mark to qualify for a UK work permit.League position is also taken into account, so hopefully Levante can finish higher than the 16th place from last season and improve upon the 3-0 beating from Espanyol in their opening fixture of this campaign.Most importantly, we hope that if the Liverpool defender does end up at the Estadi Ciutat de Valencia, he’ll enjoy regular game-time and get ample opportunity to build upon the vast promise he’s shown over the past month.If he does, the Reds might even be able to exercise the proposed break clause and get him back to Anfield in January, if he’s hit the 15-point threshold by then.