Benfica have rejected a massive €100 million offer from Liverpool for midfielder and Manchester United target Enzo Fernandez, according to reports from Portugal.
The 21 year old has enjoyed a fantastic season so far at Benfica having joined them from River Plate in the summer for €10 million plus €8 in bonuses.
Those performances earned him a surprise starting place in Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina World Cup side, and his performances in the Albiceleste’s successful campaign have catapulted him to becoming one of the hottest properties in football.
United are one of several clubs keen on capturing the attacking midfielder, but arch rivals Liverpool have been trying to swoop in quickly whilst others wait until the end of the season.
According to Correio de Manhã, the Merseysiders have lodged a whopping €100 million bid – almost three times the player’s value as per transfermarkt.com – which has been sensationally rejected.
“On Wednesday, Benfica rejected a proposal of 100 million euros for Enzo Fernández, coming from an English club that, according to Correio da Manhã, is Liverpool,” the outlet states.
“Rui Costa, president of Benfica, rejected the offer outright, because he wants to give priority to the sports project.
“The Eagles’ president thus maintains that no offer below 120 million euros will be admitted, as that is the value of the termination clause.”
It is true that Costa promised recently that he would not allow any key player to leave in January unless his release clause is met, a fact that equally applies to another United target, forward Gonçalo Ramos, who also dazzled in Qatar.
If Liverpool really have bid €100m for Enzo, it would appear that Costa has been true to his word.
Whether United will compete with their rivals at that sort of level in June remains to be seen.
It is also possible, of course, that either club could trigger the release clause and sign the player now, although in United’s case that seems highly unlikely while a striker remains the priority.
