Liverpool are said to be keeping tabs on Benfica’s new signing Enzo Fernandez, according to Melissa Reddy, amid their ongoing pursuit of a new midfielder this summer.
A new signing has yet to emerge late in the window despite the club’s ongoing attempts to address an injury crisis in the middle of the park.
“Liverpool have kept a watching brief on Enzo Fernandez, who swapped River Plate for Benfica to continue his development and if Jude Bellingham was on the market this summer, they would’ve been front and centre in discussions,” the reporter wrote for Sky Sports.
“Nicolo Barella is contracted to Inter until 2026 and would cost “silly money”.
“Frenkie de Jong ideally doesn’t want to leave Barcelona, his contractual dispute drags on, and his wage bracket is out of bounds.
“So it is not that the club’s recruitment team haven’t been searching for long-term remedies, just the pool of players considered the ‘right fit’ for a side wanting to compete for domestic and European honours is shallow.”
On a more positive note, Jurgen Klopp did announce a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ as far as the injury list is concerned, with Thiago Alcantara set to return to training ‘slightly later’ on from Thursday when Diogo Jota is poised to make his comeback.
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The prospect of us moving for the Argentine this summer has to be considered beyond slim – not least of all due to the obvious fact that he has only just signed for the Portuguese outfit.
Benfica boss Roger Schmidt has certainly made clear his complete confidence in holding on to the ‘great player’ ahead of the upcoming close of the transfer window, as reported by the Echo.
Having set a brief of a midfielder capable of filing out in both the No.6 and No.8 roles, it leaves Julian Ward and the recruitment team with a couple of sleepless nights rushing to arrange an ideal fit.
History tells us the right man is more than worth the wait, though the perfect signing seems unlikely to occur this summer so close to the deadline – not unless we’re prepared to stump up a serious fee.
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