Rumour Mongering: Benfica Bid for Harry Wilson Rejected

With Liverpool seemingly finding themselves in a sell-to-buy situation as far as transfers go, much of the talk going into this summer was which LFC players would be on offer. For many, it’s long been assumed that Harry Wilson would be one of the players sold.

He has found success during each of his loan spells over the previous few seasons, but he doesn’t seem to be in the long-term plan for Liverpool. This makes him the perfect candidate for a transfer this summer if the Reds can find a club willing to meet their desired price.

According to The Athletic’s James Pearce, Liverpool have no trouble finding clubs that are interested in a permanent move for Wilson, but they are struggling to get what they believe is a fair offer for the 24-year-old winger.

Portuguese side SL Benfica are said to have made an official bid for Wilson’s services, but their offer fell short of the €15 million Liverpool are seeking, and the gap seems to have been large enough that talks have broken down entirely.

It’s not the first bid that Liverpool have turned down for the Welshman, having rejected an offer of £11 million from Burnley last summer.

The good news is there seems to be confidence on Liverpool’s side that Benfica will come back to the table with a new offer eventually. Even if they don’t though, Pearce mentioned that Brentford and West Brom have also shown interest, and it’s not hard to imagine that a few other Championship and bottom half Premier League sides could be keeping an eye on Wilson.

Also of note is that Wilson himself is willing to seal a permanent move away from Liverpool. At this stage of his career, he needs regular football to continue developing, and he is not likely to get that with the Reds. It makes sense for him to find a club that can offer him the regular playing time he desires.

It’s hard to say where Wilson will actually end up at this stage, but it seems increasingly likely that the Liverpool chapter of his career is coming to a close.