Chelsea could potentially break the Premier League's transfer record before the January transfer deadline with a move for Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
A priority target for Chelsea over the last few months, the Blues look to be stepping up their interest in Fernandez once again before the end of the transfer window. football.london understands that Chelsea are willing to pay the £106million release clause for the Argentine, and if successful in a move for the midfielder, he would become the Blues' eighth signing of the month.
football.london also understands that Everton have offered £40million fee plus £5million in add-ons for Conor Gallagher, which would open up a space in midfield for Fernandez. Since Todd Boehly's takeover of Chelsea, Graham Potter's side has spent over £450m on new signings, and the arrival of Fernandes would take that well over the half-a-billion mark.
READ MORE: What must change for Chelsea to sign Enzo Fernandez and the other potential deadline day deals
So, what sort of impact could the Argentinian midfielder have if he was to make the move to Stamford Bridge next month? We simulated the remainder of the season with Fernandez in Graham Potter's ranks side to find out.
We 'signed' Enzo Fernandez for Chelsea in January transfer window
To set up this simulation, we used Football Manager 2023 to arrange for the 22-year-old to sign for Chelsea in the 2023 January transfer window, using FM23 to run the simulation. We then simulated the remainder of the 2022/23 season to see what sort of impact the Argentine could have.
After such a major transfer, Fernandez was not going to be used as a squad player, with Potter making the midfielder a regular in his side from the go. In his first few months at the club, Fernandez made 17 appearances across the Premier League and Champions League, with 14 of them starts.
The Argentine impressed massively, taking the place of Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic as he partnered N'Golo Kante regularly after the Frenchman's return from injury in the second half of the season. They became a formidable duo, and Fernandez managed to average a rating of 7.19 per game, one of the best ratings in the Blues' squad.
The 22-year-old's best competition was the Premier League, grabbing three assists in 14 games, whilst also registering a passing accuracy of 86%, the second-best in the squad. When compared to his fellow midfielders, Fenrnadez outperformed the majority in much fewer games.
Only Kante (7.3) averaged a higher rating than Fernandez, with Jorginho (7.17), Mason Mount (7.12) and Kovacic (6.92) all lower. Mount was the highest-scoring midfielder with eight goals in 45 games, whilst Jorginho tallied the most assists (12).
At the end of the 2022/23 season, Football Manager 23 put together an overall best Chelsea XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what it looked like:
Full Chelsea best XI: (3-4-2-1): Mendy; Fofana, Silva, Chalobah; James, Kante, Fernandez, Cucurella; Ziyech, Mount; Felix.
After an impressive first six months at Chelsea, Fernandez slotted into the Blues' midfield two, partnered by Kante as Jorginho and Kovacic missed out. New signing Joao Felix led the line as he scored 10 goals in 15 Premier League games, whilst Myhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, Benoit Badiashile and the rest of the Blues' January signings also missed out on a spot in the squad.
Chelsea's results with Fernandez in the squad
Chelsea saw an instant improvement in the Premier League following the January transfer window, but three losses and two draws in their final six games of the season saw them drop off the pace, claiming a seventh-placed finish in the Premier League. Chelsea tallied 60 points, three behind Brighton in sixth, four behind Liverpool in fifth and 10 behind Newcastle United in fourth.
In total, Potter's side lost 12 league games during the campaign, but it's understandable why their heads were elsewhere at the end of the season. After wins against Borussia Dortmund, Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea reached the Champions League final in the simulation.
Up against Liverpool, the Blues were handed an early advantage when the reds were reduced to 10 men following Andrew Robertson's red card. First-half strikes from Hakim Ziyech and Felix sent Chelsea 2-0 up, and that's how the clash finished as the Blues lifted the trophy.
If Chelsea were to sign Enzo Fernandez before the January deadline, Football Manager predicts that the 22-year-old could slot into Potter's set-up perfectly, becoming a regular in the side and helping push the Blues to Champions League success.
Would you like to see Chelsea sign Fernandez in January? Let us know in the comments!
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