Real Madrid identify alternative if they fail to land Liverpool target Jude Bellingham: Reports

Real Madrid have identified Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez as an alternative to Borussia Dortmund teenager Jude Bellingham if they cannot sign the latter, as per Fichajes.

Madrid are among the European heavyweights interested in signing Bellingham, 19, who is expected to depart Dortmund next summer.

However, with Liverpool and Manchester City also reportedly in the race for Bellingham, Los Blancos may have difficulty securing a deal.

Hence, Carlo Ancelotti's side have earmarked Fernandez, 21, as a potential alternative.

The Argentine midfielder has excelled at Benfica since joining the Primeira Liga club from River Plate in the summer for €12 million.

He has made 23 appearances across competitions, scoring three goals and providing four assists.

Fernandez particularly impressed in the Champions League and was superb in Roger Schmidt's side's two 1-1 draws against Paris Saint-Germain.

In the draw with the Parisians at the Estadio da Luz, the Argentine made 40 out of 47 accurate passes. He also made two tackles and three interceptions.

Benfica have a €120 million release clause in Fernandez's contract, which expires in 2027.

Real Madrid are not the only European side keeping tabs on the Argentine as Inter Milan, Barcelona, and City are also showing an interest.

So too are Manchester United, who are reportedly crazy about signing the former River Plate youngster.

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema is in a race to be fit for the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup

France's 25-man squad for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar has been announced.

Real Madrid trio Aurelien Tchoumaeni, Edouardo Camavinga and Benzema have made the list.

Benzema, 34, has been nursing muscular fatigue in his left quadriceps and missed Los Blancos' shock 3-2 defeat to Rayo Vallecano on Monday, 7 November.

The Madrid striker returned to the French national team last year after six years away due to his involvement in a sex tape extortion scandal.

He has earned 97 international caps, scoring 37 goals, and France will be eager to have him fit for the tournament in Qatar.

Les Bleus boss Didier Deschamps touched on Benzema's injury after selecting his squad for the World Cup.

He has claimed that Benzema is doing his best to be fit for the tournament (via Stadium Astro):

"Benzema has had a few minor injuries, but he knows that the World Cup is a very important moment. He will do everything, like the whole group, to be 100 per cent."

About the author

Matthew is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who has been covering news, rumors and match reports for close to 3 years. Learning creative writing from University of Essex, he combined his skills and passion for football take up writing for the sport professionally.

Matthew always strives to go beyond a story and offer unique and lesser-known insights, while maintaining an unbiased tone in his articles. His reporting exploits at the company have helped him gain a humungous readership of 25 million, with one of his articles raking in a whopping 724,000 reads.

A Manchester United fan since childhood, Matthew admired Sir Alex Ferguson for his loyalty and brave coaching style. His favorite footballer is Thierry Henry, believing the Frenchman to be uniquely talented and charismatic. An ardent Three Lions fan, England's penalty shootout win over Colombia in 2018 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment of all time, and he believes that Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe will have a Ballon d’Or duopoly after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

He also follows his local EFL League Two clubs AFC Wimbledon and Sutton United, and spends his free time watching and writing about professional wrestling. He also likes to work out, watch movies and go for night outs.

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Edited by Matthew Guyett