Liverpool ‘don’t rule out’ move for €120m alternative as Bellingham deals huge blow to Klopp

Will Ford
Fernandez Benfica

Liverpool reportedly ‘don’t rule out’ a move for Enzo Fernandez as they look to have lost out to Real Madrid in the race for Jude Bellingham.

A report on Monday claimed Liverpool have already submitted an offer to Borussia Dortmund for Bellingham, who is widely expected to leave the Bundesliga side in the summer.


READ MORE: England take on Germany with their detractors back in their gleeful comfort zone


Bellingham has made 100 appearances for Dortmund since his £22.5m move from Birmingham in the summer of 2020, and also has 16 England caps to his name.

The 19-year-old has shot to the top of many clubs’ shopping lists with Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City all said to be keen, along with La Liga giants Barcelona and Madrid.

It’s claimed Bellingham has received several offers from the Premier League but is set to reject all of them in favour of a move to Madrid.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp had made a ‘special insistence’ that the Reds pursue Bellingham next summer, but it looks like they will be forced to look elsewhere.

And O Jogo (via Sport Witness) claim Liverpool could look to Fernandez as an alternative to the England international.

The 21-year-old only moved to Benfica from River Plate in the summer but Liverpool’s interest dates back to his days with the Argentinian side.

The report claims Fernandez ‘knows’ of admiring glances from some of Europe’s elite and it’s claimed Liverpool ‘don’t rule out’ going for his signing.

That could be in the ‘short or medium term’, but it looks unlikely Klopp’s side will make a move in January as the midfielder is in no rush to leave Benfica having only just arrived.

There is also the slight problem of the transfer fee with Benfica protecting his exit with a €120m release clause, despite him moving to the Portuguese side for just £10.8m a couple of months ago.

Fernandez won his first senior cap for Argentina last week, coming off the bench in the 3-0 win over Honduras, and will be hoping to be part of the squad heading to Qatar this winter.