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Chelsea transfer news: Enzo Fernandez subject to £105.6m bid from Blues

By Simon StoneBBC Sport

Last updated on .From the section Chelseacomments2476

Enzo Fernandez
Enzo Fernandez (left) joined Benfica from Argentinian side River Plate last year

Chelsea have bid 120m euros (£105.6m) for Benfica's Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez in a move that would make him the British transfer record signing.

So far there is no indication whether the Blues' offer, thought to include instalments, will be accepted.

But if the deal goes through, it would eclipse the £100m Manchester City paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish in 2021.

Fernandez was named young player of the tournament during Argentina's World Cup triumph in Qatar.

Benfica have previously accused Chelsea of trying to unsettle the midfielder, with the Portuguese side's manager Roger Schmidt declaring their pursuit "closed".

However, it is not thought the Premier League club would have made a fresh offer without being given some indication it might be accepted.

Fernandez only joined Benfica from Argentinian side River Plate in August, for a reported £10m, and has scored four goals in 29 appearances for the Primeira Liga side.

He scored once during the World Cup, netting Argentina's second goal in their 2-0 group-stage win over Mexico.

Chelsea have signed Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk, David Datro Fofana, Andrey Santos, Benoit Badiashile and Malo Gusto on permanent deals in January and brought in Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid.

It comes after a summer that saw them spend a Premier League record £270m - the second-highest summer spend by any club in the world after Real Madrid (£292m) in 2019.

Most expensive signings in British football

PlayerFee (year)Club joiningClub leaving
Jack Grealish£100m (2021)Manchester CityAston Villa
Romelu Lukaku£97.5m (2021)ChelseaInter Milan
Paul Pogba£89m (2016)Manchester UnitedJuventus
Antony£82m (2022)Manchester UnitedAjax
Harry Maguire£80m (2019)Manchester UnitedLeicester City
Romelu Lukaku£75m (2017)Manchester UnitedEverton
Virgil van Dijk£75m (2017)LiverpoolSouthampton
Jadon Sancho£73m (2021)Manchester UnitedBorussia Dortmund

Analysis - Chelsea recruitment drive shows no sign of slowing

Having had a £55m bid for Moises Caicedo rejected by Brighton, now they are offering to play nearly twice as much for Fernandez.

It is clear how good the Argentina midfielder is now. Yet, at 22, he has so much potential and - don't forget - until last June, he had no experience of European football.

Given their fury at Chelsea's previous pursuit of the player earlier this month, it is hard to imagine they would have gone back without being given some indication their attempt to sign Fernandez will be successful.

Certainly, the player wants the move.

The big question, given issues have been raised about how previous deals have been structured, is what would be the basis on which the British record transfer would be funded - and what length of contract is being offered.

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2476 comments

  • Comment posted by JulianFootprint, at 16:08 30 Jan 2023

    Over £200m already spent this month, along with Felix's £10m loan fee, and then another £105m potentially to follow - two thoughts:
    a) Financial Fair Play, anyone?!!
    b) How many hundreds of kids within a two mile radius of Stamford Bridge will go to bed hungry tonight?

    As ridiculous as it is obscene.

  • Comment posted by lilu, at 16:08 30 Jan 2023

    I made a £450 quid offer for a Citroen Saxo but Chelsea bid £21 million plus an exhaust add-on

    • Reply posted by lilu, at 16:10 30 Jan 2023

      lilu replied:
      Even though I offered cash up front Chelsea's 12 year installment offer was still too good to pass up

  • Comment posted by Kmelx, at 16:06 30 Jan 2023

    Wow just wow.

    They are out of control.

    • Reply posted by Trbarezi, at 16:17 30 Jan 2023

      Trbarezi replied:
      transfer ban must be implemented

  • Comment posted by StChan, at 16:08 30 Jan 2023

    Incredible how elastic the FFP rules seem to be !!

    • Reply posted by Doors_of_perception, at 16:10 30 Jan 2023

      Doors_of_perception replied:
      Chelsea found a legal loophole, so it is the law that is elastic. Now they have changed the law but it cannot be applied retrospectively.

  • Comment posted by pab0967, at 16:06 30 Jan 2023

    Chelsea panic buying is hilarious

    • Reply posted by Joe, at 16:13 30 Jan 2023

      Joe replied:
      We've been after him all window, how is this a panic buy?

  • Comment posted by Vedrex86, at 16:13 30 Jan 2023

    They were already one of the most disliked clubs in the PL.
    Their behaviour in the last 2 transfer windows is only adding to that.

    • Reply posted by Maxiemilliano, at 16:24 30 Jan 2023

      Maxiemilliano replied:
      Who cares about your dislike? Trophies always make rivals jealous. Newcastle will soon be disliked but the fans will not care about your feeling. Sorry.

  • Comment posted by richaroo, at 16:11 30 Jan 2023

    Financial Fair Play is so laughable but it is destroying the beautiful game 😞

    • Reply posted by Ben Kensolpalpawalkerbi, at 16:16 30 Jan 2023

      Ben Kensolpalpawalkerbi replied:
      Where is all this money coming from, but also, how is it legal?

      Is this going to be another fee paid by Chelsea in 'installments'? I'm sorry, but that's just another loophole to allow clubs ways around FFP. I would laugh loudly if the transfer backfires on them.

      I'm a United fan, and I find it disgraceful. No wonder fans of lower league sides are so resentful towards the Premier League!

  • Comment posted by HaHaYouLost, at 16:07 30 Jan 2023

    You have to feel sorry for Potter, these are clearly not the players he wants to bring in. Those above him are buying everyone and anyone it seems and he has to deal with the task of fitting them all in the team. This will not end well for Potter.

    • Reply posted by Footy_fan, at 16:30 30 Jan 2023

      Footy_fan replied:
      Cost aside, why would Potter not like to bring in Fernandez? Chelsea midfield does need some bolstering and he is one KR the best around.

  • Comment posted by Ian, at 16:22 30 Jan 2023

    Just bought a Chelsea FC lamp, looks great in the middle of the table!

    • Reply posted by Bluenose, at 16:26 30 Jan 2023

      Bluenose replied:
      😂🤣😂🤣😂

  • Comment posted by D1699726676596, at 16:14 30 Jan 2023

    Ridiculous spending spree… hope they crumble in years to come. Rules? What rules?

    • Reply posted by Winners And Sinners, at 16:52 30 Jan 2023

      Winners And Sinners replied:
      The phase "A fool and his money is easily parted" comes to mind whenever the next possible Chelsea signing is announced.

  • Comment posted by carer, at 16:07 30 Jan 2023

    Chelsea have bought that many new players, Graham Potter has to go on a special college course to remember all their names.

    • Reply posted by Winners And Sinners, at 16:53 30 Jan 2023

      Winners And Sinners replied:
      Good thing their names are on the back of their shirts then, for Potter's sake.

  • Comment posted by hmmurdoch, at 16:14 30 Jan 2023

    How:

    a) can they afford all these fees and wages?
    b) will they fit them all in their squad?
    c) large is their bench going to need to be?

    They're already changing the FFP rules on contract length because of CFC's transfer activity this season, how much further can they push it?

    • Reply posted by Fletch, at 16:27 30 Jan 2023

      Fletch replied:
      I thinkbl you can still offer 8 year contracts, but you can only spread the outlay over 5 of those years.

  • Comment posted by EagledPirate, at 16:13 30 Jan 2023

    Seriously, what is Chelsea's game plan? Buy every player

    • Reply posted by Winners And Sinners, at 16:54 30 Jan 2023

      Winners And Sinners replied:
      Sure feels like this based on the last few weeks.
      On another note, does anyone else notice how many Man Utd flops there are on the above list of most expensive UK signings?

  • Comment posted by lawman, at 16:09 30 Jan 2023

    Chelsea have more money than sense.
    Football has become a little sickening.
    Grass roots football ⚽️ is the future..

    • Reply posted by Ernst the Mad, at 16:18 30 Jan 2023

      Ernst the Mad replied:
      Agree with the sentiments, but with that sort of money being thrown at players, grass roots has no chance.

  • Comment posted by Will Jarvis, at 16:10 30 Jan 2023

    5 of the top 8 transfers are by Man U every single one was/is rubbish! £400mil plus wages on Pogba, Lukaku, Maguire, Anthony and Sancho is a joke.

    • Reply posted by DeadLinesman, at 16:14 30 Jan 2023

      DeadLinesman replied:
      And Boehly has spent that in 12 months compared to five years. What’s your point again?

  • Comment posted by nicknack1, at 16:37 30 Jan 2023

    It's going to be hilarious when at least half of these players underperform, can't be sold because they're on £200k a week until 2056

    Then they won't be able to buy replacements because FFP won't let them

    But their reserve team could probably win the championship

    It's going to be hilarious 😂 🤣

    • Reply posted by Barwell1965, at 16:40 30 Jan 2023

      Barwell1965 replied:
      I think that the wages are lower (by PL standards) but the contracts are longer

  • Comment posted by kevmorris, at 16:11 30 Jan 2023

    and i can't put the heating on.

    • Reply posted by SLR, at 16:37 30 Jan 2023

      SLR replied:
      Very sorry to hear this Kevin. Hopefully, your situation will improve and the energy prices and general cost of living would go down.

  • Comment posted by Henry, at 16:09 30 Jan 2023

    How? Literally how can they spend this much money? Can we have an article looking at what this means for their financial fair play... like next summer is it anticipated their net spend can only be £20m?

    • Reply posted by AndyC, at 16:31 30 Jan 2023

      AndyC replied:
      They will probably sell 50 loan players in the summer for an average of 5-10m each and earn 250-500m.

  • Comment posted by verdonhog, at 16:16 30 Jan 2023

    Can someone explain FFP because this is becoming a farce.

    • Reply posted by KAF, at 16:20 30 Jan 2023

      KAF replied:
      Yep, Chelsea and City can spend what they want, Real Madrid and Barcelona can be basically bust and everyone else has to follow the rules!

  • Comment posted by mark, at 16:10 30 Jan 2023

    Where is financial fair play?

    • Reply posted by Ernst the Mad, at 16:16 30 Jan 2023

      Ernst the Mad replied:
      Been thrown out with the dirty bath water.

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