Liverpool Pursue Matias Fernandez-Pardo as Versatile Winger

Liverpool have stepped up their late-window hunt for attacking reinforcements by making enquiries over Lille winger Matias Fernandez-Pardo, according to a well-placed source on X.

The Merseyside club are understood to have made contact on Wednesday, moving into a race that Newcastle United have been trying to control. Newcastle have been eyeing the Belgian international as a key attacking addition for this summer, but that plan may now be under threat.

Liverpool eye versatile threat

This is not just another wide-man link thrown up in the final days of the window. Liverpool have struggled to prise wingers from Premier League rivals, and Fernandez-Pardo offers something slightly different to the usual profile being discussed.

The 21-year-old is comfortable operating from the flanks but has also been deployed centrally throughout his senior career with Gent and Lille. His appearance map tells the story: he’s not restricted to hugging the touchline, he can step inside and operate as a second striker or central threat when required.

That versatility matters. Liverpool are preparing to navigate much of the 2026/27 campaign with Hugo Ekitike leading the line, and there is a clear need for extra cover in the striker position. A forward who can slide between roles across the front line would ease that burden.

Creator more than killer

The data paints a clear picture of what Fernandez-Pardo is – and what he isn’t.

He does not profile as a ruthless, high-volume goalscorer in the mould of Alexander Isak. Nobody inside recruitment departments will be confusing the two. His Ligue 1 numbers for Lille in 2025/26 instead point towards a facilitator: a player who links play, supplies runners, and opens space for the main finisher rather than being that finisher himself.

For Newcastle, that has made sense as a potential foil for Isak. For Liverpool, it raises a slightly different question. If the plan is to use him predominantly on the left, the move only really holds up if the club are convinced he can deliver the same influence from the right.

Because on Merseyside, the flank picture is already crowded, and there is another moving part in the background: ongoing work on a deal with PSG for Bradley Barcola. Committing serious money to Fernandez-Pardo as a left-sided option would be hard to justify if he cannot switch effectively and if Liverpool intend to push that Barcola agreement over the line.

So the enquiry around Fernandez-Pardo is more than a simple hijack attempt. It’s a test of how far Liverpool are willing to reshape their forward line – and how aggressively they are prepared to squeeze Newcastle in the final days of the window.