Liverpool haven’t given up hope of signing Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez during the summer transfer window.
Fernandez has been a player on Liverpool’s radar long before he won the World Cup with Argentina this winter. But having come close to joining Chelsea this month, it looked like he’d slipped through their fingers.
Thankfully, that move eventually fell through. And now, journalist Ben Jacobs has claimed that Liverpool will be part of an ‘open’ three-horse race for Fernandez this summer.
Answering questions from fans on Twitter last night, Jacobs was asked for an update on the 21-year-old’s situation.
“If nothing dramatic happens in January, there will definitely be an open race for him come summer,” he said. “Chelsea, Liverpool and even Real [Madrid] potentially. Completely different negotiation in four months.”
Good news from a Liverpool point of view. The door on Enzo had looked to have been closed, but that appears not to be the case.
Liverpool not out of Fernadez race
Aside from Chelsea’s pursuit of Fernandez, the other thing that made a move to Anfield seem impossible was his price.
Prior to his World Cup-winning displays, it’s hard to imagine that the Argentine was worth more than somewhere in the £45m-£55m bracket. He’d been doing really well for Benfica, but that felt like the going kind of rate.
At that price, a transfer would probably have been very palatable for Liverpool. In that sense, Fernandez being called up for Argentina was the worst thing that could have happened.
The former River Plate midfielder was nothing short of sensational in Qatar. Having started the tournament out of the team, he quickly became a mainstay for Lionel Scaloni. His displays fairly earned him the competition’s Young Player of the Tournament award.
As a result, his price-tag shot up. It has been widely reported that Fernandez has a release clause of around £102m in his Benfica contract. As they’re within their rights to do, the Portuguese giants demanded full payment of that for a move during the January window.
Ultimately, that turned out to be a stretch even for Chelsea. Now, with negotiations set to be ‘completely different,’ it feels as though the fee will have dropped considerably. It’ll still be far heftier than it once was, though. From a Liverpool point of view, they have to weigh up whether they can afford to do both Fernandez and Bellingham. Let’s see what happens.
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