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.
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As for the player's side, Fernandez has green-lit a move to Stamford Bridge but Chelsea are attempting to avoid paying the release clause and instead fork out a hefty fee that includes add-ons. Felix Johnston has revealed that there is a verbal agreement between the two clubs with a pay structure that would see Chelsea pay around £106million as a fixed fee with performance related add-ons possibly taking the fee to £115million.
It is thought that given Chelsea's incentive to pay the large price tag on the shoulders of Fernandez, a move to the Premier League is far more likely than a stay in Primeira Liga, with Schmidt revealing his thoughts on his star midfielders situation after their defeat to Braga.
“I don’t know if this was Enzo’s last match," he admitted to SLBenfica. "He’s been a great player since he arrived at Benfica. Sometimes in football things happen and players have to make a decision. Let’s see what happens next week."
With the January transfer window set to open, Chelsea are on the verge of completing another deal. David Datro Fofana is already confirmed as an arrival, while Andrey Santos and Benoit Badiashile appear to be Chelsea players, pending official confirmation.
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