Chelsea appear to be planning a late push to sign Enzo Fernandez before the January transfer window closes. As Graham Potter looks to bolster his midfield, the 22-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge..
According to sportsacer.com, the Blues are expected to approach Benfica with another offer for Fernandez before the end of the month. Chelsea made the Argentina international a priority target ahead of the new year, and they held several rounds of negotiations.
If reports are to be believed, that time has arrived. The west Londoners have reopened talks with the Portuguese giants, according to The Telegraph, in what appears to be a last-ditch effort before the deadline on Tuesday evening..
A previous deal fell through when Benfica refused to meet Chelsea’s €120 million (£105 million) valuation for his release clause. But, with the club in desperate need of a new midfielder and the futures of N’Golo Kante and Jorginho in doubt, there appears to be a new sense of urgency to complete a deal.
Earlier this month, head coach Roger Schmidt stated his belief that Fernandez will remain with the Eagles past the January transfer deadline. “Neither I nor the president want to sell him,” he said.
We know there is a release clause, and if he wants to leave and someone pays it, we might lose the player..
A club wants him; they tried to entice him, but they know they can only have him if they pay the clause.
It’s disrespectful to all of us, to Benfica; they’re driving the player insane by pretending to pay the clause and then negotiating. This is all I’m going to say about Enzo, and I’m not going to answer any further questions about it.”
Schmidt then doubled down on Wednesday. He went on to say: “Yes, of course [I’m confident Enzo will remain]. I believe that when you see Enzo playing for Benfica right now, you see a player who is at the top of his game and who is very happy to be there.
“I don’t think we’ll lose any of our starters or players who play a lot of minutes. That is why I see very focused players, and I expect him to stay.”
Todd Boehly has a reputation for completing transfers in unusually short periods of time. Despite the fact that a move to Arsenal was all but confirmed, Chelsea completed a deal to sign Mykhailo Mudryk in what appeared to be a matter of hours..
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