Chelsea preparing huge bid for 2022 FIFA World Cup winner ahead of January transfer deadline: Reports
Chelsea are planning a fresh raid on SL Benfica to sign Enzo Fernandez, as per Portuguese publication Record (h/t Football.London).
The Argentina international added to his already burgeoning reputation after helping his nation lift the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Seven of his 10 senior caps for La Albiceleste came in Qatar.
Chelsea have pursued Fernandez for the majority of the winter transfer window. However, their approach was rebuffed after it became clear they weren't keen on meeting his £106 million release clause.
Benfica have remained adamant that the clause must be met for the player to leave the club. If the Blues are planning a new offer, then it may have to be near the nine-figure valuation placed on the 21-year-old.
According to @Record_Portugal, Enzo Fernández missed both Benfica training sessions held today as his record breaking move to Chelsea edges closer https://t.co/7zsTanDJFn
New owner Todd Boehly has already overseen the arrivals of six players in January. Noni Madueke is the latest addition after the Blues sealed winter deals for David Datro Fofana, Andrey Santos, Benoit Badiashile, Mykhaylo Mudryk and Joao Felix (loan).
With nearly £190 million spent this month, it remains to be seen if Chelsea will cough up the cash needed to sign the Benfica midfielder. The deep-lying playmaker is a huge part of the Portuguese team's first-team set-up.
Signed for a fee of £10 million last summer from River Plate, Fernandez has registered two goals and five assists in 28 games across competitions for his new club.
He is a world-class passer of the ball and excels at kickstarting attacks deep from midfield. Moreover, the Argentine can play as a number eight as well as a number six.
Chelsea's urgency to sign a new midfielder could be boosted by the fact that N'Golo Kante and Jorginho could both leave as free agents this summer.
Crystal Palace boss bemoans Chelsea spending
Manager Patrick Vieira has claimed that big English clubs such as Chelsea make it hard for a team like Crystal Palace to sign players from abroad.
Vieira is concerned about Chelsea's level of spending distorting the market. He also seemed to know the situation around signing Gallagher but seems to think it can't happen: standard.co.uk/sport/football… twitter.com/NizaarKinsella…
Speaking after his team's 1-0 loss against the Blues on 15 January, the Palace head coach said (h/t Daily Mail):
"Of course it is not going to make it easy because when the Premier League team goes abroad to try to bring that player, it becomes really difficult because the other [selling] team will think we have the same spending as the other team. Of course it makes it more difficult...
"...Chelsea are in a different level and we have to accept it but we can be really smart and we can work in a different way to find the players to fit the way we want to play."
Palace have signed midfielder Cheick Doucoure from RC Lens and Bayern Munich defender Chris Richards, taking their total spending this month to £32 million (with add-ons).