Chelsea are prepared to pay a club-record transfer fee to Benfica in order to bring World Cup winning midfielder Enzo Fernandez to the English Premier League next month.
Record Sport understands that an offer in excess of the €127million Benfica took for the 2019 sale of Joao Felix has been proposed by Chelsea's new owners for the Argentina international. Benfica – currently on course to win the Portuguese League for the first time in four seasons and in the last 16 of the Champions League - do not want to jeopardise those twin campaigns by selling Fernandez mid-season.
Chelsea hope the midfielder will push the Lisbon club for an immediate move as they seek to turn around a difficult first season under Todd Boehly's leadership. Fernandez's performances at the Qatar World Cup and during his first half season in European football have been such that the 21-year-old has established himself as an alternative to Jude Bellingham amongst clubs looking to recruit in central midfield.
