According to Record, via the Daily Mirror, Liverpool entered the race to sign Fernandes in 2019, but the Portuguese international ended up signing for Manchester United for a fee of £47 million, which could rise to £67.7 million.
He's established himself as one of the best players in the league since moving to Old Trafford, with 40 goals and 25 assists in 77 appearances.
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For comparison, Mohamed Salah has 44 goals and 19 assists in the same time frame and is the best-attacking player at Anfield.
Not only has Fernandes propelled Manchester United from nine points outside the top four in January to a Champions League spot last season to second place this season, but he's also excelling in a position where Liverpool currently lacks quality.
In midfield, Jurgen Klopp's engine room is focused on winning the ball back and supplying their fullbacks, who are then tasked with creating chances for the front three.
To be fair to the German, it worked brilliantly up until this season, but with Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold failing to match their previous levels, creativity and goals from central areas were required.
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Fabinho, Thiago, and Wijnaldum – Liverpool's most used midfielders – have four goals and zero assists in all competitions.
Fernandes has been outstanding for United in a role that Philippe Coutinho excelled in for Liverpool before leaving Anfield for Camp Nou.
The Reds have won the Champions League and the Premier League without a world-class no.10, but with Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane getting older and their goal contributions not being what they once were, Klopp may need to change his system.
If your forwards aren't scoring a lot of goals, you'll need your midfielders and defenders to step up.
As another example, consider Manchester City. With Sergio Aguero injured at times this season and Raheem Sterling struggling for form, Pep Guardiola altered his style of play to put the onus on Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne to score goals.
They've scored a total of 46 goals in all competitions between the two of them.
With the exception of the ever-consistent Mo Salah, Liverpool's forwards must step up next season, or Klopp must find a way to get other players into the box to contribute.
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