Wolves were reportedly close to signing Enzo Fernandez from River Plate during the summer but their failure to bring him in has proven to be a disaster, as he now looks to be Liverpool-bound in a money-spinning deal.
It was reported ahead of the 2022/23 campaign that Wolves’ sporting director Matt Hobbs had even flown to Argentina to try and complete a deal for the exciting young midfielder.
However, the Old Gold would pull the plug when Fernandez made it clear he wanted to finish the Copa Libertadores campaign with River Plate and Benfica saw their opportunity and pounced, bringing him to the Estádio do Sport Lisboa in a deal worth just £15.6m.
The Portuguese side, who have cultured a reputation for developing young talents and selling them for a big profit – with Joao Felix, Darwin Nunez and Ruben Dias as three notable examples – look set to repeat the trick with Fernandez.
It has been suggested that Liverpool have already agreed a deal to sign the 21-year-old in an eye-watering deal worth £100m after some sensational performances for club and country over the past six months, with the midfielder likely to join in the summer of 2023.
Since signing for Benfica, Fernandez has gone on to make 18 appearances in all competitions for the Portuguese Liga side, averaging a superb 7.22 rating from WhoScored for his performances in the league after contributing one goal and three assists in 13 appearances.
He also played a big part in Benfica topping a Champions League group including PSG and Juventus, making five appearances and averaging a strong 6.97 rating from WhoScored.
If that wasn’t already enough to convince Wolves they’d made a mistake and persuade Liverpool to pay the big bucks, then his performances at the World Cup in Qatar will have well and truly nailed that home.
The young midfielder has one goal and one assist in six appearances for Lionel Scaloni’s side and looks likely to start in the final on Sunday, with Lionel Messi dubbing his recent performances “spectacular.”
Given how poor Wolves have been all over the pitch so far this campaign, missing out on a player of Fernandez’s obvious quality is tough to take, and it will only look worse for the Old Gold if he wins the World Cup this weekend and then becomes a success in the Premier League with the Reds, should his eye-watering transfer go through in 2023.