The 20-year-old Racing midfielder has been scouted by Benfica ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
Enzo Fernandez left Benfica, an obvious fact, like the greed that arose around the world champion, which has already prompted president Rui Costa and sporting director Rui Pedro Praz to enter the stadium in order to find an immediate replacement for the core of the Eagles. As reported yesterday by CNN Portugal and O JOGO confirmed, the priority red is Carlos Alcaraz, the 20-year-old midfielder who plays for Racing, in Argentina.
Practically speaking, and given the meteoric rise of Enzo Fernandez, who exploded at Benfica and took to the stage in Qatar for Argentina, Benfica officials had already expected the No. 13 shirt to likely be sold and, as O JOGO aptly reported, look for replacements soon. As far as we know, even before the global competition started, the first polls were conducted on Carlos Alcaraz, a highly rated player in the red prospecting section.
SAD da Luz has learned that Alcaraz is all set to join Roger Schmidt’s team and that Racing’s plans are to allocate around 18 million euros for the youngster, whose termination clause is set at 25 million. What is certain is that Benfica will aim for a deal of around 15 million, while they look for other alternatives.
Offers are raining in to grab Enzo Fernandez
As we have discovered, businessman Jorge Mendes has already made two offers of 127 million euros for Enzo Fernández to Rui Costa, with the aim of surpassing João Félix’s transfer to Atlético de Madrid, by 126. Another bid of… 130m, all amounts above the 120m stipulated in the midfielder’s termination clause, in a bid to beat the competition. Chelsea and Manchester United were mentioned, and there was still Liverpool, who secured the advantage with Enzo and his manager.
From what we have discovered, and given the advanced state of business, the possibility increases that Enzo Fernandez, who returned from Argentina yesterday, will not even travel to Braga on Friday, because the clubs available for such a huge investment will not want to take the risk. Of course, the last word will be given to the best young player of the past World Cup.
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