Having already signed seven players this window at an eye-watering £183m Chelsea could be still to add their biggest addition of the month. Enzo Fernandez, who many thought may be one of the first through the door, is still at the centre of negotiations over 30 days after the Blues initially made contact with Benfica.
It has now re-emerged as the biggest deal to watch heading into the final hours of the winter window. Fernandez is due to be playing for his side on Tuesday night with kick off in Portugal less than two hours before the deadline for deals.
Due to the negotiations ongoing over his future, there is uncertainty over whether he will be involved in this match or not. Meanwhile, Todd Boehly has his team on a quickfire mission to sign him this window. Other than trying to avoid a scramble over his services in the summer there is another reason Chelsea are trying to act quickly.
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Part of the way the new owners are insuring Finacial Fair Play rules are being adhered to - at least for now - is by offering mammoth contract lengths. In essence, this amortises the value of the player on the books over those years. For example, Benoit Badiashile purchased for £35m this window goes down to £5m per year in the books over his seven-year deal.
With a release clause as large as Fernandez's, Chelsea will need to spread the cost out over a long period once more to ensure they are complying with FFP. Such is the nature of the deals Chelsea have been doing they have attracted attention from clubs across Europe, frustrating many with their tactics.
Questions have been raised over the legitimacy of these lengthy deals but they are legal. There are UEFA rules to limit contracts to five years but that is unless league rules say differently. The Premier League has no such restriction and can therefore open Chelsea up to these huge offers.
UEFA have responded to the queries and are now set to change the way the structure works to stop this effective loophole. The European footballing governing body is now expected to set a five-year limit on deals and their payment. Although it doesn't stop the club from giving out longer deals it ensures that costs are only spread across five years.
This is yet to happen though and Chelsea's urgency to sign Fernandez now is perhaps reflected in the likeliness of the upcoming deal. Should it not go through there would be a fight for his signature in the summer and new rules may well be in place, reducing the effectiveness of the long contracts.
For Chelsea it's a double whammy and extra incentive to secure Fernandez sooner rather than later.
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