Irankunda makes way

Stats correct as of 20 July 2025

Nestory Irankunda

Age: 19 (born 9 February, 2006)
Club: Watford FC
Position: Winger
Country: Australia (five caps/ one goal)

Key stats

Irankunda never got to play for the Bayern pros, but he trained with the first team and was an unused substitute in the UEFA Champions League and DFB Cup.

Senior club football did come his way during the second half of 2024/25, though, with the former Adelaide United talent playing 19 times for Swiss Super League side Grasshopper Zurich (one goal, three assists).

The 5'9" winger also featured in 15 matches for Bayern's reserves, producing four goals and four assists, whilst debuting for Australia in FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying and scoring on only his second outing for his country.

Bayern announced that Irankunda agreed terms on a permanent move to Watford on 18 July.  

Plays a bit like: Alphonso Davies

Rapid, strong, always looking to take on opposition defenders and with a rocket of a shot on him, the right-footed Irankunda looks a bit like Alphonso Davies in a mirror.

Their breakouts as young, exciting wingers also bear remarkably similar hallmarks, while Davies' top speed of 22.69 mph (36.51 km/h) - that set a Bundesliga record at the time - is actually bettered by the 23mph (37 km/h) mark hit by the Aussie in October.

In fact, if he had hit that speed in the Bundesliga, it would have seen him break into the top two fastest players in German top-flight history. 

Did you know?

The comparisons between Davies and Irankunda go far beyond the football pitch and their stories from hardship to the very elite of world football are remarkably similar.

Davies was born in a Ghana refugee camp after his parents fled civil war in Liberia and eventually found a new life in Canada before going on to join Bayern.

It is a story Irankunda knows all too well himself having also been born in a Tanzanian refugee camp, after his parents Gideon and Dafroza, like Davies', sought safety amid a bloody war between Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups in their home country of Burundi.

"When the civil war broke out, they had no choice, they didn't want to lose their lives," Irankunda told the Canberra Times in May 2023. 

"My older sister was sick and when they were trying to flee they were about to leave her behind. But Dad couldn't, he loves his family and he'd do anything for his kids. That's when things were going crazy, he picked up my sister (and fled).

"Dad gets emotional talking about it and I try to understand what they went through but they've only shared small bits."

What they're saying

"Nestory is an extremely quick winger who dribbles and shoots well, with real drive towards goal. We're convinced of his potential." - Jochen Sauer, head of the FC Bayern Campus

"From a natural talent point of view, he has everything going for him. He is such a beauty to watch." - Airton Andrioli, the man credited with discovering Irankunda, in an interview with keepup.com.au