Nestory Irankunda: Wonderkid with Burundi roots joins English club Watford

Nestory Irankunda has joined Watford on a five-year deal from Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, the English Premier League club announced on Friday.

The highly-rated 19-year-old made the switch for an undisclosed transfer fee.

Born in Tanzania to parents from Burundi who moved to Australia when he was three months old, Irankunda chose to represent Australia at international level and was given his first cap by former coach Graham Arnold in June 2024.

"Nestory can be a very special player and we believe he can realise his potential here, with us," said Watford sporting director Gian Luca Nani.

"Nestory was extremely sought-after and thanks to our established scouting network and connections we were able to be ahead of others in the race to sign players of this potential."

Professional debut

Irankunda made his professional debut as a 15-year-old for Adelaide United during the 2021/22 season and came to prominence with an eye-catching performance playing for an A-League select side against Barcelona.

He scored his first goal for the country later that month against Palestine in his second appearance for the Socceroos before completing a move to Bayern Munich in an A-League record deal.

He made his fifth appearance for Australia in a 3-1 win over China in October last year during Asia's World Cup preliminaries but has not been selected since by current coach Tony Popovic.