Over the past couple of days, reports from the European media have been claiming Liverpool are interested in Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
The 22-year-old has arrived in Lisbon this summer, following a €10m move from River Plate, and his first appearances with the Eagles’ shirt were apparently enough to create some rumours regarding this future.
With the Portuguese media not missing out on any transfer rumours, they not only heard about Liverpool’s interest, but also asked Benfica manager Roger Schmidt about the possibility of losing Fernandez sooner than expected.
The manager made it clear this is not something on his mind, claiming the Argentine player will spend time in Portugal to develop his potential before making any move abroad.
“No, I’m not afraid. He feels good here, it’s the perfect place to develop,” said Schmidt (via Record).
“He’s a great player, a great person, he’s focused, professional and knows what he does when he comes here. Everything came together at the right time, I think he will be here for a long time, half a year is not enough.”
Despite the season having just started, Benfica already had tough challenges in the Champions League’s play-offs, and those are the kind of games where they needed the big players to step up, which Fernandez did. The midfielder is now protected by a €120m release clause, so Liverpool can be aware they’ll have to pay a lot more than that €10m fee the Eagles just spent.
