Liverpool 'tracking' prolific Benfica wonderkid but face two hurdles to get a deal done

Liverpool have been tracking Benfica ace Henrique Araujo for a long time but are facing a battle to land the youngster. Manchester City and Barcelona are also interested in signing the striker.

Liverpool are facing two hurdles in their bid to sign Benfica talent Araujo this summer after a fine campaign at youth level. The Reds have one of the best scouting departments in Europe and have a fine track record when it comes to transfers.

The 20-year-old has been in brilliant form this season with a number of impressive displays for Benfica B. His latest performance saw him score a hat-trick in the UEFA Youth Level final against RB Leipzig.

The Portuguese team steamrolled their opponents 6-0 at the Colovray Stadium in Nyon, Switzerland to assert themselves as one of the best clubs at youth level and Araujo was their main man. It has alerted several teams on the continent to his prowess in front of goal.

That includes Liverpool, who are renowned for picking up talents for decent fees and seeing them develop into fine players. Jurgen Klopp has utilised their methods brilliantly with more senior stars such as Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota as recent examples.

However, the Reds are facing a difficult battle to land Araujo, according to Mundo Deportivo, via Sport Witness. That is because they are not the only ones in the race with City and Barcelona also tracking the youngster.

The second hurdle is the fact that Benfica have no intention of letting the striker go this summer, forcing any club to enter negotiations to dig deep into their pockets. They have just tied Araujo down to a new contract that will keep him at the club until 2024.

It remains to be seen whether Liverpool would go ahead with such a plan, while there are other areas of the squad that Klopp wants to bolster. A new midfielder is wanted with Monaco ace Aurelien Tchouameni being heavily linked while Aberdeen starlet Calvin Ramsey is also being courted.

However, there is some good news as Benfica's hardline stance is likely to put off Barcelona while City might look elsewhere considering their other transfer plans. With Erling Haaland seemingly on the way and Julian Alvarez also already in their ranks, another striker might be lower on their priority list.