How Nestory Irankuna went from Watford to historic Sporting transfer, background

Australian football fans’ midweek mornings just got a whole lot more interesting.

With Nestory Irankunda’s £17 million ($32.5 million) move – with a whopping $130 million release clause – from Watford to Sporting CP finalised, Australians have got a new reason to set an early alarm with the 20-year-old set to feature in the UEFA Champions League.

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If fellow World Cup hero Jordy Bos returns from his knee injury in time – he is expected to miss the first three months of Dutch club Feyenoord’s season – Australians will have two superstars to keep an eye before the sun rises on a weekday.

Irankunda’s decision to join the Portuguese club who famously developed Cristiano Ronaldo brings his own prophecy from the World Cup to life.

The Adelaide United product, who mesmerised the nation with his unforgettable goal in Australia’s 2-0 victory against Turkiye in Vancouver, has never been shy when it comes to his ambitions.

He left German giants Bayern Munich for English Championship Watford last year to get more minutes under his belt to ensure he would go to the World Cup.

Once there, he told reporters after Australia’s World Cup campaign came to an end in the Round of 32 that a big move was imminent.

“I see myself playing at a top level soon, whether that’s now or next season,” Irankunda said.

“It will happen eventually in my opinion. I have that belief in myself that I can get to that level one day. Time will tell.”

Watford drew the race for Irankunda’s signature out over roughly two months to ensure they got their best deal for the winger.

While Bayern did not award the then teenager with a senior appearance alongside the likes of England captain Harry, the German behemoth, who have won 13 of the last 14 Bundesliga titles, could see the Australia’s immense talent.

That is why Bayern sold him to Watford with the condition that they receive 40 per cent of the transfer fee when The Hornets sell him.

Watford put a price of €20 million on his head and Sporting eventually paid it after earlier links with Premier League clubs Everton, Fulham and Hull City, recently relegated West Ham, as well as several Spanish and Italian outfits.

“I’m happy when a top club is asking for some of our players because it’s a certification that we’ve done a good job, I’m more scared if no-one is asking for our players,” Watford group technical director Gianluca Nani said in an interview last month.

“It’s also not that we want to sell everybody, but it’s also part of our job.

“Nestory is a great guy and he’s doing super well. We are proud of what he’s doing and all the world is talking about him. In Italy, everybody is talking about him.”

Unlike those other interested clubs, Sporting, who finished runners-up to rivals Porto in the Primeira Liga last season, could offer the carrot of Champions League nights.

Rui Borges, who replaced Ruben Amorim as head coach when he left for Manchester United in 2024, took Sporting to the quarter-finals of the Champions League last season.

The 21-time winners of the Portuguese top flight were knocked out by Premier League champions Arsenal with only one goal being scored across the two legs.

They automatically advanced to the Round of 16, having finished seventh on the table with five wins and a draw in the league phase.

That included upsetting back-to-back Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 at home at the 52,707-capacity Estadio Jose Alvalade, named for the club’s founder, in Lisbon.

“Outstanding news. Champions League football is vitally important for all Australian Socceroos to play at the highest level,” ex-Socceroos captain Craig Foster wrote on social media when Irankunda’s transfer to Sporting was initially reported to last month.

“The opportunity provided to the next gen to play in the World Cup has and will pay dividends for them all.

“Also, a legendary Portuguese club with a significant tradition of wingers. Ronaldo, (Luis) Figo, Nani et al. Well done to Nestory. Looking forward to seeing you in the Champions League this season.”

While former Socceroos and Manchester United goalkeeper Mark Bosnich told Code Sports: “The bottom line is it’s all about pathways, and clubs want to be 100 per cent certain on you, so there are certain stages that you go through.

“Irankunda is going to Sporting, and Sporting is one of the greatest producers of talents in the world.

“Just look at Cristiano Ronaldo, who came through there.

“It’s a club where you can develop, contend for the title in Portugal and play regular European football.

“It’s a wonderful platform for people to show their wares.

“Because the World Cup is just one tournament, but can they do it for nine, 10 months of the year, week in, week out?”

Bosnich added: “Sporting have a great manager in Rui Borges and are one of the top three clubs in terms of developing talent.

“(Arsenal striker Viktor) Gyokeres is one, but you just need to put down two letters and a number to prove how good they are: CR7.”

Irankunda certainly looks like he is made for the Champions League stage.

Throughout his young career, the lightning-fast forward has made a reputation as a showman at both international and club football.

He dazzled Watford fans last year by scoring two long-range free kick screamers early in the season and celebrating with a spectacular backflip.

As he has started scoring more goals, Irankunda has had to shift away from the acrobatics, however.

“Honestly, yeah, it does make me a bit gassed,” he told Esquire when asked about his backflip celebration an interview before the World Cup.

“That’s why recently I’ve switched it up a bit and I don’t do them as often.”

Irankunda’s initial change in approach led to his Michael Jackson celebration.

His dance routine inspired by the King of Pop, that even included a white glove being thrown to him from the sidelines, as he bagged a brace during Australia’s 5-1 trouncing of Curacao in their pre-World Cup farewell game in Melbourne in March blew up on social media.

He then took it back with him to Watford.

But Irankunda had something different planned for the World Cup.

When he raced out the back of the Turkish defence to get on the end of a long ball from Paul Okon-Engstler and bury Australia’s opening goal of the tournament, Irankunda charged to the corner flag and unleashed a Boxing Kangaroo celebration that Australian fans know all too well.

“Timmy Cahill is my biggest inspiration when it comes to football,” Irankunda said after the 2-0 win against Turkiye.

“Him and Lionel Messi. Tim Cahill, Australia’s greatest in my opinion. I just thought if I scored, I’ll do the same as him and I got to do it.”

Irankunda would have been taken a back when I saw his idol’s words on Instagram post-game.

“So much talent and this kid knows how to let his football do the talking,” Cahill wrote of Irankunda.

The man who scored for Australia at three World Cups was not the only one singing his praises.

“It doesn’t matter what level of football you play at, in the park or World Cup, that is fantastic speed,” former Socceroos and Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou said on UK television network ITV’s broadcast.

“A massive moment,” he added. “Sometimes in World Cups, you just need a good couple of weeks and your whole world can change. Let’s hope that is the start for him.”

Irankunda’s Australian teammates certainly know that the sky is the limit for him.

Socceroos midfielder Jackson Irvine, who has been to three World Cups and spent the last five years playing in the Bundesliga with St Pauli before joining Japanese club Cerezo Osaka, described Irankunda’s talent as “obscene”.

While fellow Adelaide United product Mohamed Toure knows his good friend better than most and said during the World Cup that the 20-year-old could have the same impact on Australia as Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham had on England

“I’ve seen a lot of good players but sometimes you have a special talent and he’s that,” Toure said.

“If he puts in the work and stays grounded, I think he’ll go beyond the potential many people already say he has. He’ll surpass that.”

All that praise comes despite many opinions that Irankunda was not given the best chance to show the world his incredible talent during the World Cup.

Long-time Australia and Premier League goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer told the football360 podcast that Irankunda was “wasted” by Socceroos manager Tony Popovic.

Irankunda started on the wing when he scored his goal against Turkiye but played as a one-out striker when subbed on for the second half against USA as well as starting in that role against Paraguay and Egypt.

The 20-year-old gave it his all.

He competed fiercely in aerial battles with centre backs, but his blistering pace is better suited to a wide position.

The personal silver lining of the criticised move was that Irankunda’s defensive efforts could hold his game in good stead going forward.

It was a point of criticism in the lead-up to the World Cup with concerns about his fitness leading to debate over whether he should start or be deployed as a super sub.

“Playing for Australia at the World Cup and against the top nations in the world, the first thing you’ve got to do is be able to defend and run and do it for 90 minutes. And it’s hard. It’s really, really hard,” Irvine said before the opening game.

“It’s non-negotiable in this team, and he’s finding it, and he’s learning it all the time. You’ve got to bring it, and it’s got to be every day. When that gets better and better, which it will, we’ll see him on the pitch for longer and longer, and he’ll get the chance to show everyone that talent more and more.”

The fact Irankunda has made it to the Champions League adds another chapter to his remarkable Australian story.

The 20-year-old is the son of Burundian parents and was born in a Tanzanian refugee camp.

His family moved to Perth when he was just three months old before relocating to Adelaide when he was seven.

The significance of his journey is not lost on Irankunda, who said before the World Cup that he wants to inspire refugee children in Australia like his Socceroos teammate did for him.

“I feel like a lot of young kids look up to us, in the same way that I looked up to the likes of Awer Mabil,” he told Esquire.

“I hope they look up to me as a positive role model.”

Toure also comes from a refugee background.

The 22-year-old was born a Liberian refugee in Guinea before his family came to Australia when he was eight months old.

He knows better than most the level of self-belief needed to climb your way to the top.

It is an attribute that he knows his good friend has in spades.

And it is why Australian fans should be excited for plenty more Irankunda highlights on football’s biggest stages.

“Nestor always thinks he’s the best player on the pitch, every time he plays,” Toure said.

“To be the best, you have to feel like you’re the best, and that’s something he does very well.”