Liverpool target asks to leave as three Premier League teams compete to sign him
Liverpool have received a boost in their search for a new forward, as one of their top targets has officially asked to leave his current club. Despite hiring new manager Andoni Iraola in June, Liverpool have been quiet in the transfer market this summer. So far, they’ve made just one signing: young Spanish forward Victor Munoz from Osasuna, after triggering his €40 million (£34.6m) release clause.
Since star player Mohamed Salah left at the end of last season, Liverpool clearly need to sign at least one more forward before their first match against Newcastle United on August 23. The biggest name linked to Liverpool is Paris Saint-Germain’s winger Bradley Barcola, with a bid of around £100 million expected soon.
But Barcola isn’t the only forward the Reds are interested in. Iraola is also a fan of Lille’s Matias Fernandez-Pardo, the 21-year-old Belgian who played in the World Cup this summer. Fernandez-Pardo has been linked with a big move away from Lille, but the Ligue 1 club have so far been firm about not selling him.
According to French news outlet L’Equipe, Fernandez-Pardo took matters into his own hands and officially asked to leave the club after meeting with Lille’s president, Olivier Letang, on Tuesday. However, Lille isn’t keen to let him go just yet. With another striker, Hamza Igamane, still recovering from an ACL injury, Lille rely heavily on Fernandez-Pardo and 39-year-old Olivier Giroud.
Letang told L’Equipe, “The player is under contract until 2029, and his departure isn’t up for discussion. We’re counting on him, and he knows that.” There were rumors about a release clause, but Letang denied this, saying, “He never had a release clause. Every player who wanted to leave has left. This is the same story as last summer, just with a new agent.”
Liverpool will probably keep trying to sign Fernandez-Pardo if he continues to push for a transfer. But they aren’t the only team interested – Arsenal, Chelsea, and Atletico Madrid are also watching his situation closely.
Fernandez-Pardo joined Lille from Gent in 2024 for €10 million (£8.6m) and has played 71 games, scoring 12 goals and providing 11 assists for the French club.