Man Utd must break a record if they buy the best young player in the World Cup
According to British newspaper Sunsport, Benfica has no intention of selling Fernandez for "a penny less" than the $127 million release clause. The 21-year-old midfielder has just joined the Portuguese club in the summer of 2022, and has a contract until 2027.
Therefore, Man Utd will have to break the club's transfer record if they want to recruit Fernandez in January 2023. The current record of Man Utd is still the $ 107 million deal that brought midfielder Paul Pogba back to Old Trafford in 2016.
Similarly, Liverpool must break the record fee of 102 million USD for Darwin Nunez from Benfica in the summer transfer window of 2022, to sign Fernandez.
Newcastle is said to be another potential destination for Fernandez, but coach Eddie Howe admits the transfer fee for the 21-year-old midfielder is too expensive. According to him, Newcastle's recruitment and transfer process is more complicated, not just signing a player who has just shone at the World Cup.
From Spain, Real Madrid is also studying options to recruit Fernandez in case they can't find Jude Bellingham - the new mainstay in England's midfield.
Growing up at the River Plate furnace, Fernandez made his first team debut in 2019 and then played for Defensa y Justicia for two years on loan. Here, the midfielder in 2001 shined when he helped the club win the Copa Sudamericana and Recopa Sudamericana, and then returned to River Plate in 2021. Fernandez was the mainstay to help River Plate win the Argentine league title, before being bought by Benfica for a fee full $13 million in summer 2022. In the contract, River Plate set a clause to enjoy 25% of the transfer fee if Benfica sold Fernandez. Therefore, if Benfica earns 127 million from the sale of the Argentine midfielder, River Plate will pocket nearly $ 32 million.
Fernandez was close to joining Man City before going to Benfica. Joan Patsy, director of City Football Group - the global empire that owns Man City - explained: "Man City may have signed Fernandez. But what will we do if we have Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva and Rodri in the team. Man City will cost less than Benfica, but we know Fernandez can't play."
At the 2022 World Cup, Fernandez resonated from the right foot to the top corner, setting a 2-0 victory over Mexico in the second round of the group stage. After that, he won a starting place in the midfield in all of Argentina's remaining five games, and was voted Best Young Player of the tournament. "I'm not surprised with Fernandez's form. I know and watch him train every day. Fernandez deserves this title because he is a great player," captain Lionel Messi praised his juniors.
