Sports Desk
LONDON: Chelsea have bid a British-record 105.6 million pounds for Benfica’s Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
So far, there is no indication if Fernandez, who was part of the World Cup-winning Argentinian squad, will accept the Blues’ offer – thought to include installments.
But, in case the deal goes through, it would surpass the 100 million pounds Manchester City paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish in 2021.
The Benfica ace was named young player of the tournament during Argentina’s World Cup triumph in Qatar.
The Lisbon-based club have previously accused Chelsea of trying to unsettle the midfielder, with Benfica’s manager Roger Schmidt declaring their pursuit “closed”.
However, it has been opined that the Premier League club would not have made a fresh offer without having some hints that it would be accepted.
Fernandez joined Benfica for a reported £10mn
Fernandez only joined the Portuguese side from River Plate in August, for a reported £10 million, and scored four goals in 29 games for the Primeira Liga side.
He also netted once during the World Cup, scoring Argentina’s second goal in their 2-0 group-stage win over Mexico.
Chelsea have signed Noni Madueke, David Datro Fofana, Andrey Santos, Mykhailo Mudryk, Malo Gusto and Benoit Badiashile on permanent deals in January and brought in Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid, following a summer that saw them spend a Premier League record £270m – the second-highest summer spending by any club in the world after Real Madrid (£292m) in 2019.
