Liverpool’s winger search is beginning to split into two lanes. One is the obvious, expensive lane: proven explosiveness, World Cup noise, and fees that quickly move beyond sensible risk. The other is more interesting. Andreas Schjelderup sits in that second lane.
The Benfica forward is back on the radar amid reports that Liverpool are among the clubs monitoring him, with Tottenham, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan and Como also credited with interest. That level of competition matters, but the profile matters more. At 22, under contract until 2028, and coming off a season in which FotMob logs seven Liga Portugal goals, five assists and 1,733 minutes, Schjelderup is not a punt dressed up as strategy.
For Andoni Iraola, he looks like the kind of wide forward who can help Liverpool rebuild without forcing the club to commit every pound of the summer budget to one marquee attacker.
A Wide Forward With Interior Value
Schjelderup is listed primarily as a left winger, but the attraction is not simply touchline width. Liverpool already have enough straight-line wide profiles on the shopping list. What makes the Norwegian useful is his capacity to receive outside, carry inside, and connect attacks before the final action.
That matters in Iraola’s football. His best Bournemouth sides were not passive possession teams. They wanted pressure, aggressive regains and fast combinations after the ball was won. A winger in that structure cannot be a decorative dribbler. He has to attack space, protect the ball under contact and make the next pass quickly enough to keep the move alive.
Schjelderup’s data points in that direction. FotMob rates him strongly among attacking midfielders and wingers for touches, shot attempts, goals and chances created. That does not make him a finished Premier League starter, but it does show a player involved in the right parts of the pitch rather than living off isolated moments.
There is also a squad-building angle. Liverpool have already been linked with higher-ticket forwards, while Victor Munoz has arrived as part of the new attacking layer. Schjelderup would not have to be sold as the single solution. He could be the adaptable piece: left wing cover, inside-forward option and a player capable of growing into heavier responsibility.
Why The Price Point Changes The Debate
The financial question is the strongest part of this link. Transfermarkt lists Schjelderup’s contract to 2028 and a market value of EUR30m, while other reports around the race have placed the likely fee in a similar bracket. In the current market, that is not cheap. For a 22-year-old international with Champions League exposure, it is manageable.
That distinction is important because Liverpool’s squad needs are not confined to the front line. The centre-back picture has shifted after Ibrahima Konate’s Real Madrid move, midfield depth remains under scrutiny, and Iraola still needs full-back profiles who can survive his aggressive defensive distances.
Spend elite money on one winger and the rest of the window tightens. Spend smart money on a player with resale value and tactical elasticity, and Liverpool keep room to fix the spine of the side. That is precisely the market balance Richard Hughes has to protect while Iraola reshapes the front line.
There is risk. Benfica are experienced sellers, Schjelderup is not yet a guaranteed 15-goal Premier League forward, and a multi-club race can inflate a clean valuation very quickly. Liverpool have been burnt before by buying promise without a defined role.
That is why this link should be judged through fit rather than hype. Schjelderup makes sense if Liverpool see him as a flexible wide creator for Iraola’s pressing game, not as a headline replacement for every departed goal. At the right price, the move would look less like a gamble and more like a calculated attempt to build the attack before the market becomes completely irrational.
