Enzo Fernandez, a World Cup champion, will join Chelsea on an eight-and-a-half year, £106.8 million deal from Benfica.
Chelsea and Benfica agreed on a fee arrangement that included an upfront payment of £30 million and five installments during the final hours of the January transfer window. The agreement was reportedly struck at 9:15 pm UK time.
Benfica released a statement confirming the transfer.
Jorginho, a midfielder, left the west London side on deadline day for Arsenal in a move worth an estimated £12 million, and Fernandez joins Chelsea hours later.
According to reports, Fernandez has taken a flight to London on February 1st.
The acquisition of the Argentina international will be greatly appreciated by Graham Potter’s team, which has had a difficult start to the season and now has the difficult challenge of qualifying for the Champions League.
After leaving River Plate in July 2020, he signed for Benfica for £10 million. He has played 25 times for the team and scored three goals.
Before leaving for Europe, Fernandez played 53 games for the Argentine Primera Division team, scoring 12 goals and dishing out 10 assists.
When Fernandez moves to Chelsea, River Plate has a 25% sell-on clause.
The midfielder, who was crucial to Argentina’s successful World Cup campaign, was honored in Qatar as the Young Player of the Competition. Argentina beat Mexico in a key group-stage matchup thanks to a goal from Fernandez.
Prior to their World Cup campaign, he only appeared on the field three times, beginning in September.
The Premier League team with the most activity during the January transfer window was Chelsea. Fernandez is their ninth new acquisition, bringing their total spending during this window to £322 million.
Malo Gusto, Joao Felix, Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana, Mykhailo Mudryk, Andrey Santos, and Noni Madueke are the other players who have followed Fernandez to Chelsea.
Hakim Ziyech, a winger for Chelsea, was reportedly on the verge of joining Paris Saint-Germain on loan through the conclusion of the current campaign when the deal fell through.
According to a number of sources, Chelsea failed to turn in the paperwork in time for the move to be handled.
Since joining Chelsea from Ajax in 2020, the Moroccan international has played 98 times and scored 14 goals.
With Fernandez’s transfer, the club would have spent more than 500 million pounds on players overall since being acquired by an investor consortium led by American Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital last year.
In the Premier League, Chelsea is currently in 10th place, 10 points off the top four. On Friday, they will host their nearby rivals, Fulham.
