According to a recent report by Sport Bild, Liverpool will face stiff competition from the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea in their chase of Benfica striker Joao Felix. The same report has also mentioned that both Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund could join the race which won’t be good news for Jurgen Klopp’s chances of landing the player.
Felix is yet to make a move out of Portugal and has played for clubs such as Dragon Force and FC Porto before his switch to the Estádio Sport Lisboa e Benfica in the summer of 2015. The Portuguese youngster has done well to work his way up the club’s youth ranks before finally managing to break into Bruno Lage’s first-team at the start of this season.
The Benfica prospect is quite versatile and can play in multiple positions up top. He primarily operates as a secondary striker, but he is also quite capable of playing in the number 10 position or featuring as a winger down the left flank.
The Viseu born talent boasts blistering pace which helps him dribble with the ball at high speed down the wide areas to wreak havoc for the opposition defenders in the attacking end of the pitch.
The Liga NOS wonderkid has enjoyed a rich vein of form this season and has already put in a few majestic displays for the Portuguese giants during this campaign. Felix has made 20 appearances for the Eagles this term, scoring seven goals while providing two assists in all competitions. The 19-year-old has also represented his country, Portugal at various youth levels so he can play a big role for Fernando Santos’ senior team if he can continue with his development in the coming years.
Felix’s potential acquisition will undoubtedly bolster Jurgen Klopp’s attacking options at Anfield. The Reds have a lot of promising young talents coming through from the club’s academy so they will benefit from acquiring a player of Felix’s incredible potential. However, he is still quite a raw talent so it would be wise for the Reds to be patient and monitor his progress at Benfica before they make up their mind and offer him a chance to make a switch to Merseyside.
Klopp has shown in the past that he can spend money wisely in the transfer market so we can expect the German boss not to start panicking because of the growing competition for the player. He is the type of manager who would relish at the prospect of going head to head with other clubs and beating them in the transfer market by luring the youngster to Anfield in the near future.
