Benfica manager Roger Schmidt has admitted he is unsure whether or not Enzo Fernandez has played his last match for the club amid talk of a big-money transfer to Chelsea. The Portuguese side returned to action on Friday evening against Braga but were comfortably beaten 3-0 with Fernandez subbed off around the 90-minute mark.
Initially, it was revealed Fernandez was set to start on the bench having won the World Cup with Argentina just under two weeks ago, along with the links of a January switch to west London ramping up. Following a conversation with Schmidt though, Fernandez was named in the starting XI. However, he was unable to have a significant impact with Benfica on the receiving end of an embarrassing defeat.
Todd Boehly's sudden interest in the 21-year-old appeared left-field, despite his crucial role in Argentina achieving World Cup glory. Chelsea quickly stepped up their attempts to sign the midfielder and made their intentions perfectly clear, sending new technical director Christopher Vivell to open official talks. Fernandez has a massive £105million release clause in his contract but football.london understands Chelsea are willing to pay above that fee to secure him, if they can agree favourable terms.
