Liverpool miss out on Norwegian wonderkid dubbed the ‘next Erling Haaland’

Norwegian goal machine Andreas Schjelderup has reportedly rejected Liverpool for a second time, as it was confirmed that he would be joining Portuguese giants Benfica on a long-term deal.

The 18-year-old forward has been the target of the Reds in the past; he turned down a move in 2020 to Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain to join Danish club Nordsjaelland.

He has now again rejected the Reds’ advances to join Portuguese side Benfica.

Schjelderup was voted the best player in the Danish Superliga for the first half of the season thanks to 10 goals in 17 appearances.

Benfica will pay a £12.5m (€14m) fixed fee - making him the second most expensive teenager in Norwegian history after Erling Haaland - and his contract will run until June 2028.

Seemingly the proposal of regular football at a club that competes in the Champions League every year was the more attractive offer on the table. If he had made the move to Liverpool, he would find himself battling with Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota for minutes.

Benfica have recruited shrewdly again following the loss of Nunez to Liverpool in the summer, as they hope to have identified another bonafide star in the making that will one day be sold for a tremendous profit, like so many others before him.

Earning the tag as the ‘next Erling Haaland’ is no mean feat, but he’s certainly a completely different player as he plays off the left wing, and can be seen dazzling defenders with his quick feet and ingenuity.

Perhaps he isn’t known by the masses currently, but given the hype around him, his technical ability and the fact that Benfica is a perfect place to develop – Liverpool may revisit negotiations with the Portuguese club in the future, where they will possibly hope that it will be third time lucky in a few years’ time.