Chelsea are expected to approach Benfica with another proposal for Enzo Fernandez before the transfer window closes, football.london understands.
The Blues made the Argentine midfielder a priority target before the January transfer window opened and held several rounds of talks with Benfica over a deal. However, the Portuguese side stood firm on their £105million valuation, a figure Chelsea were ultimately not prepared to meet.
That resulted in frustration on the part of Benfica. “We do not want to sell him, neither I nor the president," said head coach Roger Schmidt. "We know that there is a release clause and if he wants to leave and someone pays that clause, then maybe we lose the player.
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“There is a club that wants him, they tried to attract him, but they know that they can only have him if they pay the clause. It’s disrespectful to all of us, to Benfica, they’re driving the player crazy, they pretend they want to pay the clause and then they want to negotiate. About Enzo is all I’m going to say and I’m not going to answer any more questions about it.”
Central midfield is a position Chelsea want to strengthen before the end of the window. A bid for Brighton's Moises Caicedo is understood to have been made and rejected while potential loan options have been explored. However, the Blues are once again set to test Benfica's resolve over Fernandez.
Chelsea have spent significantly this January with Benoit Badiashile, Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, Joao Felix, and David Datro Fofana all added to the first-team squad. Youngsters Gabriel Slonina and Andrey Santos have also been signed.
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