Chelsea have made an offer worth £105million for Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez that would smash the British transfer record.
The Blues are hopeful of sealing a deal for the 21-year-old before Tuesday’s 11pm transfer deadline.
Their bid meets his buy-out clause but Chelsea have offered to stagger the fee rather make a single payment and it is unclear whether Benfica will accept those terms.
Chelsea had wanted to spread the cost of a deal for Fernandez as they bid to stay in line with Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.
They are ready to send a delegation to Portugal in a bid to finalise a deal for Fernandez that would take their spending under new owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake beyond £500m.
The Blues failed with a move for Fernandez earlier this month but have re-opened talks over the Argentina international, who was one of the breakout starts of the World Cup in Qatar.
Chelsea want to strengthen their midfield and have stepped up efforts to sign Fernandez after cooling interest in Arsenal target Moises Caicedo and Everton’s Amadou Onana.
The current British transfer record is the £100m Manchester City paid for Jack Grealish in 2021. Chelsea’s record is the £97.5m they paid to re-sign Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan in 2021.
