Deal collapsed: Liverpool fans will be on high alert after Fabrizio Romano update
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Antonio Silva has rejected Benfica’s offer of a new contract.DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL EMPIRE OF THE KOP APP FOR ALL THE LATEST & BREAKING UPDATES – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAYFabrizio Romano reports on X (formerly Twitter) that the 22-year-old defender ‘will now assess offers’ ahead of a potential exit this summer.Liverpool reportedly held the centre-half on a five-man shortlist to bolster the defence ahead of the January window this year.Antonio Silva may have put himself in the frame for Liverpool transferLiverpool have often presented themselves as a club with an eye for market opportunities.With Silva now opting not to extend his stay in Portugal – on a contract that expires in a year – surely this now qualifies as one such favourable deal our recruitment could take advantage of? 🚨🇵🇹 Antonio Silva has decided to reject Benfica new deal proposal and will now assess offers to leave the club this summer.
Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustGiovanni Leoni and Jeremy Jacquet, though both exciting projects, are just coming back from injury, while Joe Gomez’s record in this department is far from unblemished.So, in our minds, Liverpool could really do with another reliable option following Ibrahima Konate’s switch to Real Madrid on a free transfer.Antonio Silva would be an interesting Ibrahima Konate replacementIt wasn’t so long ago that various reports were talking up Antonio Silva as a potential £80m-plus signing.With a year to go on his current terms, however, we’d have to reasonably imagine that Benfica would struggle to demand much more than half that amount. Certainly, given their own financial constraints in the Portuguese top-flight, we just can’t see the Eagles opting to allow their young centre-back to run down his contract and risk losing a major fee.From Liverpool’s perspective, the appeal is obvious.
His aerial duel win rate last term, for instance, ranked in the 50th percentile (58.7%) per 90 in the Portuguese top-flight.And that really doesn’t compare favourably to our former No.5’s average of 71.3% in the Premier League last term.Will that put an inordinate amount of pressure on his defensive partner in a Premier League that’s increasingly defined by physicality? Quite possibly, but Liverpool’s recruitment may judge Silva’s on-ball value as being worth the risk.