Enzo Fernandez will not be leaving Benfica unless an interested party meets his €120m release clause.
The 21-year-old has enhanced his growing reputation with a string of impressive performances at the World Cup and will have the opportunity to lift the trophy in Argentina’s sixth finals appearance on Sunday.
Fernandez only joined Benfica in the summer amid interest from Manchester City, Manchester United and Wolves – who he has approached – but reports elsewhere recently suggested a move to Liverpool had already been agreed.
However, sources have told that the Portuguese giants are not aware of any deal and that talk of a “done deal” is premature.
Liverpool are monitoring Fernandez’s progress and have made contact with the player’s representatives, but have only registered their interest at this stage.
Real Madrid and Barcelona are also admirers of Fernandez’s talents, although Benfica are not keen to sell in January and the player himself is fully focused on winning the World Cup with Argentina.
Furthermore, Benfica have told Fernandez’s representatives that if he is to leave Estadio da Luz, one of the clubs interested in buying him, he will have to fully raise his €120m release clause, making him their second most expensive export behind Joao Felix.
Any deal around that figure would represent a significant gain for Benfica, who paid River Plate around €18m including add-ons when the deal was signed in June last year.
