Benfica’s hunt for River Plate midfielder Enzo Fernandez continues to be one of the hot topics in Portugal’s sports media, with newspaper Record today featuring a front page about the chase.
The Eagles’ pursuit seems to be going well, as the report claims the player is set to accept their offer, even though he wants to stay at his club until the end of the year so he can fight for the Copa Libertadores title.
Benfica, however, are not to be alone in this race. And today, it’s Manchester City and Manchester United who are named as potential competitors for the 21-year-old.
The Eagles’ first difficulty is said to be the price, since River Plate are not willing to let him go for less than the amount on his release clause, which is set at €20m. And while the Lisbon side try to negotiate, more powerful clubs could end up moving.
With Benfica officials travelling to Buenos Aires for talks, Record says that has ‘alarmed’ people at Manchester City and Manchester United. Now the two Premier League sides could ‘raise the pressure’ for the signing.
One of the reasons River Plate don’t want to negotiate a fee for Fernandez’s sale is that this summer they’re already losing their biggest star, as Julian Alvarez is joining Pep Guardiola’s side.
So since Manchester City already have a communication channel open with the Argentine giants, perhaps that’s an advantage they could have over Manchester United.
