Liverpool can beat Newcastle to yet another transfer target | OneFootball

Liverpool have been Newcastle's worst nightmare over the last couple of transfer windows.

Last summer, the Reds helped force Alexander Isak out of St James' Park and stole Hugo Ekitike from under their noses.

Both of these players would've helped the Magpies out massively this term with the club finishing outside of the top 10 for the first time in forever.

This summer, Eddie Howe probably thought that his team would escape the grasp of the Anfield outfit but, just a week ago, they signed Victor Munoz after the Magpies had spent weeks negotiating a deal for the Spaniard.

And, since yet another of Howe's targets has been taken off the table, they've turned their attention towards a new player.

But, since Liverpool are also being linked with him, they could easily ruin Newcastle's plans if they wanted to.

Newcastle want to sign Liverpool target Matias Fernandez-Pardo

At the moment, it feels like most teams across the world want to add new attackers to their squad.

Every time a new transfer link for Liverpool emerges, it's often a new attacker who is set to solve all of their problems.

But, since nobody knows what the future has in store for players such as Cody Gakpo, it's unclear what business Richard Hughes will have actually done by the start of the season.

However, since Mohamed Salah has exited and Ekitike's return date hasn't been set, it's clear to see why they need new attackers.

And, since the price of players feels extremely high at the moment, it's hardly surprising to see the Anfield considering all options which is why a recent report from The i Paper could kick them into gear for yet another move.

"Newcastle United are considering moves for Lille forward Matias Fernandez-Pardo and highly-rated Real Betis winger Abde Ezzalzouli after suffering the bitter blow of missing out on Victor Munoz," they wrote.

"They will pivot from Munoz against the backdrop of deep scepticism from supporters that they are capable of pulling off the sort of deals that will reignite the PIF project.

"Insiders push back against that – pointing out that they beat Chelsea, Real Madrid and Tottenham to sign goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen – but in mid-June they find themselves in a position they did not want to be, scrambling for momentum in a crucial summer.

"There’s no point in denying it – Newcastle sources are frustrated at how the Munoz deal has played out and it represents a blow. There’s an acceptance the optics are bad and that the challenge now is to not let the transfer window spiral in the way it did last summer.

"A deeper pool of targets than they had then should help. They are capable of moving onto targets that don’t represent the sort of drop off that last year’s Plan Bs did. Panic was the problem last year.

"For all the talk of better data and processes, the fact of the matter is they have now missed out on one of their priority targets."

Liverpool could easily persuade Matias Fernandez-Pardo to join them over Newcastle

As mentioned, Liverpool still need to add a fair few players to their ranks this summer.

Their performances during the 2025-26 season were terrible and, without adding some new faces to their ranks, they could end up even worse off next term.

Fernandez-Pardo has long been linked with a Liverpool move, and for good reason.

The 21-year-old has played a key role for Lille this term and has played 41 times across all competitions.

During those games, the Belgian has contributed to 15 goals and has played across the front three as well as in the number 10.

His attacking prowess is clear to see with the forward having a fair few similarities to Rafael Leao during his 2018/19 season at Lille.

During that campaign, the Portugal international played 26 times and contributed to 10 goals which got him a move to AC Milan where he has thrived and has become one of their best attackers.