Chelsea are reportedly ready to pay a club-record transfer fee in order to beat off competition from Manchester United to sign Enzo Fernandez from Benfica in January.
Fernandez is the subject of lots of transfer interest after impressing during Argentina’s triumphant World Cup campaign. The 21-year-old midfielder won the Young Player of the Tournament award in Qatar after playing an integral part in Argentina’s third World Cup win.
He only joined Benfica from River Plate for £15million in June but is already being strongly linked with a move to the Premier League. Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool are all interested in signing him when the January transfer window opens in the New Year.
With another World Cup star, Cody Gakpo, already on the way to Liverpool, who gazumped United with a £45m offer to PSV Eindhoven, Fernandez looks set to be the next cab off the rank.
United and Liverpool have reportedly stepped up their interest by intensifying their contact with Fernandez’s agent. Benfica recently turned down a €100m (£88m) bid for their prized asset and are holding out for his €120m (£106m) release clause to be paid in full.
Chelsea are so keen on Fernandez that they are willing to jump to the front of the queue by paying €130m (£114m), according to the Daily Record. Owner Todd Boehly has given the move the green light ahead of the window opening on January 1.
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That fee would represent a club record for both Chelsea and Benfica, were it to go ahead. The Blues’ record buy currently stands at £97.5m – the fee they paid Inter Milan for Romelu Lukaku in August 2021. Benfica’s biggest sale was the €127m they took in 2019 when Joao Felix moved to Atletico Madrid.
Benfica are understandably keen to hold onto Fernandez following his star turn at the World Cup. They are currently top of the Primeira Liga and want to keep Fernandez until the summer, at the very least. However, they are looking at Racing midfielder Carlos Alcaraz as a possible replacement.
Benfica are in a strong position, given the Argentina international is under contract until the summer of 2027. Their desire to extract the highest possible fee if he does leave is partly due to the fact they have to pay 25 per cent of the transfer fee to River Plate.
After celebrating the World Cup win in Argentina, Fernandez arrived back in Lisbon on Tuesday ahead of Benfica’s return to action against Braga on Friday. Portuguese newspaper O Jogo says he may miss the match due to the ongoing speculation about his future.
When asked about his future on Monday, Fernandez said: “I don’t know about my future or proposals, that’s what my representative is taking care of. I don’t want to get into the subject. I am focused on Benfica, we have a game on Friday.”
