Image Credits: Imago Images
Andoni Iraola has not yet taken a training session at Melwood, but the work being done in his name looks already well underway.
Liverpool’s recruitment team have been busy throughout the managerial transition, identifying targets, monitoring valuations, and mapping the squad architecture that the new head coach will inherit when the 2026/27 season begins in August.
Midfield is among the most pressing areas of attention.
The Curtis Jones situation remains unresolved, with the 25-year-old entering the final year of his contract and Inter Milan’s opening bid of €20 million already rejected.
Federico Chiesa has made his desire to leave plain.
The squad Iraola inherits has genuine quality in certain areas, but in the engine room, questions are mounting about both depth and long-term planning.
It is against that backdrop that a name has now firmly entered the conversation, one that Manchester United have been circling for months and that Liverpool are now watching with equal intensity.
21-year-old Portuguese central midfielder, Mateus Fernandes, spent the 2025/26 season as one of the few undisputed bright spots at a West Ham United side that suffered relegation from the Premier League.
His numbers across the campaign were striking.
Thirty-six Premier League starts, 3,024 minutes played, 103 tackles, 35 interceptions, and 87.5% passing accuracy.
He created 37 chances from open play and set pieces, completed 28 dribbles at a 58.3% success rate, and did it all while operating as the primary midfield engine for a club under enormous pressure.
He was also voted West Ham’s Goal of the Season winner for a long-range strike against Sunderland in January, in a season where little else went right for the club, Fernandes stood apart.
Portuguese newspaper A Bola reports that Liverpool have now formally joined Manchester United in tracking his situation, with both clubs said to have monitored him for approximately two years.
United are said to hold a slight advantage at this stage, with Michael Carrick keen to reshape his midfield following expected departures.
But Liverpool’s interest is genuine, and Iraola’s pressing, high-intensity system is considered an ideal fit for Fernandes’s profile — a player who combines defensive tenacity with elite ball-carrying and press resistance.
The obstacle is West Ham’s valuation.
The Hammers want €80 million and have made clear they will not negotiate cheaply, even with a Championship season ahead.
United’s current ceiling is reported at around €55 million.
Whether Liverpool are willing to bridge that gap is the question the next few weeks will answer.