According to a recent report by Record (via the Metro), Liverpool have begun negotiations with Benfica over a potential deal which would see Francisco Reis Ferreira make a switch to Anfield. The same source has also revealed that the Reds were interested in recruiting the Portuguese defender two years ago and even made an offer to take Ferro on loan with a view to signing him permanently for £10m.
However, a deal failed to materialise back in 2017, and so far, Record (via The Metro) has claimed that Benfica has shown no indication of entertaining Liverpool’s advances for their prized asset.
The report has also mentioned that the Portuguese starlet penned a new contract with the club earlier this month which contains a €100m (£85m) release clause. Thus, the Merseyside giants would only be able to sign him on a world-record transfer fee but will face stiff competition from Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund (the Metro) in pursuit of the defender.
Ferro grew up playing football in Portugal before joining the Benfica academy at a young age. He came through the youth set-up of the famous Portuguese club before finally featuring for their ‘B’ team at the beginning of 2016. The Oliveira de Azeméis born talent has managed to break into Benfica’s senior team this year and has performed exceptionally well since making a step up to play at the top level of Portuguese football.
The 21-year-old has featured in 29 matches for Bruno Lage’s side this term and has three goals to his name across all competitions. He has made an average of 1.9 tackles and 1.8 interceptions per match which is quite impressive for a young defender (Stats taken from Whoscored).
Furthermore, his incredible defensive contributions have helped his team climb to the top of the Primeira Liga standings heading into the final few fixtures of this campaign.
Ferro has shown tremendous maturity while operating at the heart of the Benfica backline. He can read the game well and has a knack for scoring important goals for his side. More importantly, he is an excellent tackler and can make well-timed interceptions in his own half.
At 21, the Portuguese wonderkid has a very bright future ahead of him so Liverpool will do well to lure him away from Benfica. However, Jurgen Klopp should by no means consider smashing the world-record transfer fee to get Ferro. The Benfica youngster is still quite raw and has also not proven his worth over a sustained period. There would undoubtedly be more proven players available in the market in that price bracket, so the Reds are better of exploring some of their other options for now.
