Liverpool have reportedly made an approach to Benfica over the possible transfer of highly-rated young centre-back Francisco Ferreira.
The Reds could do with more quality alongside Virgil van Dijk at the back after Joe Gomez’s injury problems, but may have to pay even more for Ferreira than they did to sign Van Dijk from Southampton.
MORE: Liverpool face competition from Real Madrid in race for star whose transfer could cost just £21.6M
As noted by BBC Sport‘s report at the time, Liverpool paid £75million for the Netherlands international, while Portuguese outlet Record, with translation and additional information from the Metro, state they’d have to pay Ferreira’s £85m release clause to sign him this summer.
The 21-year-old seems pretty expensive given his relative lack of experience at the highest level, but it could be a worthwhile investment if he ends up fulfilling his enormous potential.
It remains to be seen if LFC could realistically afford a signing like this, but it seems they have a long-standing interest in the player.
The Metro claim Liverpool first looked into signing him a couple of years ago, though his value has shot up since then.