Liverpool are keeping tabs on Benfica winger Andreas Schjelderup, according to reports in the Italian media.
TMW claims that the Reds, Tottenham, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan and Como are all monitoring the 22-year-old, who could be on the market for €30m (£26m) this summer.
Schjelderup was actually close to leaving Portugal during the January transfer window, when Club Brugge offered €15m (£12m) for the player.
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However, the Norwegian international ended up staying at the Estadio da Luz and establishing himself as one of Benfica’s top performers.
Schjelderup managed to win over Mourinho
Benfica boss Jose Mourinho criticised the forward’s fitness in the early part of last campaign, and he was dropped to the bench for a couple of months at the back end of 2025.
Schjelderup did, though, have an impressive second half of the season, scoring 6 goals and providing 4 assists in his final 14 league games. He also scored a brace against Real Madrid in the group stages of the Champions League, which helped secure their place in the knockout stages. Those performances prompted a U-turn in Mourinho’s opinion of the player. Speaking in May, the former Chelsea and Manchester United boss said:
“Comparing the Schjelderup of months ago with the Schjelderup of today is impossible. There’s no point of comparison, the only thing that’s the same is that boyish face… He’s still unshaven, his face is the same, that baby face is the same.”
“Neither from a physical point of view, nor from a tactical point of view, nor from a mental point of view, there’s nothing comparable. I’d say that this kid, if he continues to develop in this way, will surely be a real talent and I’d say a great, great, great talent.”
Liverpool may be considering cheaper alternatives to Diomande
With RB Leipzig holding out for a fee in the region of €130m (£112m) for Yan Diomande, it is not surprising that sporting director Richard Hughes is looking at other options.
It is up for debate, though, whether Schjelderup has done enough to warrant a big move to Anfield. He clearly has talent, as Mourinho says, but his numbers suggest that he hasn’t yet made the leap to an elite level.
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