Chelsea are reportedly willing to pay a club-record transfer fee in order to beat competition from Manchester United to sign Enzo Fernandez from Benfica in January.
Fernandez is the subject of a lot of interest in the transfer market after impressing in Argentina’s World Cup victory. The 21-year-old midfielder won the tournament’s Young Player of the Year award in Qatar, being an integral part of Argentina’s third win in the World Cup arena.
He only joined Benfica from River Plate for £15m in June but has been repeatedly rumored 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.
Fernandez is being watched by the big English teams.
Another World Cup star, Cody Gakpo, is on his way to Liverpool following a £45m bid for PSV Eindhoven. This information is a shock to Man United because they are said to have come very close to the Dutch striker. And Fernandez seems to be the next to make the Red Devils hate.
Manchester United and Liverpool are said to have made their interest increasingly apparent by increasing contact with Fernandez’s agent. Benfica recently turned down a €100 million offer for their brightest star and is awaiting an offer equal to his €120 million release clause.
According to Daily Record, Chelsea are so interested in Fernandez that they are ready to jump to the top by paying €130m (£114m). Owner Todd Boehly gave the green light to the deal before the market opened on January 1.
That fee would be a record for both Chelsea and Benfica. The Blues’ purchase record 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 collected in in 2019 when Joao Felix moved to Atletico Madrid.
Benfica is keen to keep Fernandez after this star shines in the World Cup. They are currently at the top of the Primeira Liga and want to at least keep Fernandez until the summer. However, they are considering Racing midfielder Carlos Alcaraz as a possible replacement.
Boehly is said to be ready to break the transfer record.
Benfica has a big advantage, as the Argentina international has a contract until the summer of 2027. They want to receive the highest possible fee if he leaves, partly because they have to pay 25% of the transfer fee to the old club. of young stars.
After celebrating his World Cup win in Argentina, Fernandez returned to Lisbon before Benfica returned to play against Braga on Friday. When asked about his future, Fernandez said: “I don’t know about the future or the proposals for me, that’s what my agent is taking care of. I don’t want to get into this topic. I don’t want to get into this. focusing on Benfica, we have a game on Friday.”
Thanh Vu | 16:51 December 28, 2022
