Offloading Rafael Camacho to Sporting CP could grease the wheels in Liverpool’s pursuit of midfielder Bruno Fernandes, according to Correio da Manhã.
The newspaper claims that Liverpool have tabled a bid worth £40million for the 24-year-old, who has also attracted attention from Manchester United, Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan.
It is understood that Sporting CP want £62.2million for the former Sampdoria midfielder but Liverpool seem to have an edge on their rivals in the hunt for a deal as a switch to Lisbon for 19-year-old Camacho could be advantageous.
Correio da Manhã adds to their report that “the next few days will be decisive”.
OPINION
If letting Camacho join Sporting CP hands any advantage to Liverpool in the race for Fernandes, they should definitely consider a player-plus-cash bid for the Portugal international. Fernandes was in amazing form for Sporting last season. From the midfield he scored 32 goals and supplied 18 assists in 53 appearances across all competitions. Liverpool’s top scoring midfielder last term was James Milner, who scored seven times. Fernandes plays in an attacking midfield role behind the striker and could be someone to provide another way to find the back of the net when Roberto Firmino or Mohamed Salah go off the boil as they did at times in the 2018/19 campaign. Yes, Fernandes’ goals and assists came in a league that is a lot weaker than the Premier League, but you could make that argument about most players across Europe because not many top flights come close to England’s. Fernandes still scored three times versus Benfica last term and also netted against Villarreal in the Europa League. He might be able to replicate his form in England at Anfield.
