Man Utd and Liverpool must beat transfer record SMASH to sign Enzo Fernandez while Benfica name their price tag for World Cup star

BENFICA have reportedly dumped a whopping £105million asking price on Enzo Fernandez.

The midfielder was one of Argentina’s standout players in their triumphant World Cup season and attracted the attention of many with a solid series of performances.

3

3

Premier League big boys Liverpool were seen as admirers of Fernandez ahead of his stellar performances at Qatar 2022 which have reportedly piqued interest from Manchester United.

However, it is claimed the duo will need to break the Prems’ record transfer fee to take his services as Benfica have no intention of selling him for a penny less than his huge £105m release clause.

If Liverpool were to push through on a deal to sign Fernandez, it would break the club record £85million they paid Benfica for Darwin Nunez last summer.

United, meanwhile, would surpass their previous world record fee of £89million for the recently deceased Paul Pogba.

The reported interest in Fernandez, who picked up the World Cup Young Player of the Tournament award, hasn’t shocked his international Lionel Messi.

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner said of the 21-year-old: “I’m not surprised by Enzo.

“I know him and see him train every day.

“He deserves it because he’s a spectacular player.”

HOW TO GET FREE BETS ON SOCCER

Newcastle United are also said to be interested in signing Fernandez, although manager Eddie Hearn has recently suggested a nosedive could be too expensive for the Argentine.

He said: “My apologies to Alan [Shearer], I think I was on the other channel. I know him and I know him but I think the transfer fee could be quite high.

“From a recruiting perspective, I don’t think you ever just analyze the World Cup and sign a player based on those performances.

“There’s a lot of work that goes into signing a player, so it’s never four weeks.

“There will be a phase of work that goes into that.

3

“Is that not to say that we don’t use the World Cup as a recruitment tool to look at these players, just for these games? No, we wouldn’t do that.”

Fernandez joined Benfica in the summer for £9million plus add-ons from River Plate, although he could have played for Manchester City as well.

City Football Group director Joan Patsy told Què T’hi Jugues: “Manchester City could have signed Enzo Fernandez.

“But what do we do when we have Gündogan, Bernardo and Rodri in the squad?

“He would have cost us less than Benfica. But we didn’t have the space and we knew he wasn’t going to play.”