Report: Julian Ward had ‘excellent’ 21-year-old down as his next Liverpool target

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Julian Ward had Enzo Fernández down as his next Liverpool target, according to reports. It’s now unclear what the Reds will do.

This comes from O Jogo. They claim that Liverpool sporting director Julian Ward pinpointed Enzo Fernández as his next target for 2023.

After leading the charge on both Luis Díaz and Darwin Nunez, Ward sees the Benfica midfielder as an ideal signing from Portugal. However, his resignation throws things up in the air.

Ward will step down as sporting director at the end of the season, despite only taking the role in the summer. This winter will be his final transfer window, then, and it’s one where Enzo isn’t expect to leave.

A Bola claimed this week that Benfica will point to the £103m release clause in his contract for any side wanting him in January.

Julian Ward wanted Enzo Fernández at Liverpool

Of course, Ward is still at Liverpool and will be for months. It’s difficult to know whether he’ll be the one laying the groundwork for summer deals, though, given he won’t be involved in the negotiation.

We’d love it if Enzo could arrive at Anfield in January, but that seems impossible. Thus we can’t say for sure whether Liverpool will continue with their interest.

It’ll all depend on their next recruitment team. Liverpool will want that set up quickly so they can go into a massive summer without any confusion. Then, perhaps, the Reds can still pursue Enzo with comfort in 2023.

And at the end of the day, the Argentine is so good that any new sporting director would surely go after him. At the very least, they’ll want to see how available he is at the end of the season.

At least, we certainly hope that’s the case. Enzo was labelled ‘excellent’ by his manager earlier this year and that’s underselling it if anything. The 21-year-old is one of the most promising young midfielders around.