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Chelsea have reportedly finally found an agreement with Benfica over the signing of Enzo Fernandez. The Argentine will join the club for a British record £105 million, signing an eight-and-a-half-year contract.
It was the longest-running transfer saga of the January transfer window, and it looks to have finally reached its conclusion. The Telegraph reports that the Blues sealed a deal with Benfica for Fernandez in the final hour of the window.
The transfer takes Chelsea's spending to over £500 million since Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital's ownership commenced in May last year. Negotiations were led by cooperating owner Behdad Eghbali between the west London club and Benfica.
Fernandez's deal eclipses the former British transfer record set by Manchester City when they signed Jack Grealish from Aston Villa in 2021 for £100 million. Graham Potter's side have been eager to sign the Argentine throughout January.
They were reluctant to meet Fernandez's transfer release clause earlier this month, but negotiations with Benfica were reopened in the last few days heading into deadline day (January 31).
Chelsea are signing one of Europe's brightest midfield talents, who has enjoyed a meteoric rise at the Estadio da Luz. The 22-year-old only joined the Eagles from River Plate last summer for £8.6 million. The Argentine club are set for a windfall of £26 million from the deal that has taken their academy graduate to Stamford Bridge.
He has featured 29 times across competitions this season, scoring four goals and providing seven assists. The exciting midfielder was a standout performer for Argentina at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He was awarded the Young Player of the tournament for a campaign in which he made seven appearances, scoring one goal and providing an assist.
Fernandez was left out of Benfica's squad for their clash with Arouca on deadline day. He also missed training as meetings between the two clubs looked to reach a decisive point. The Argentine midfielder has been keen to join the Blues, and personal terms have already been agreed.
Lionel Messi's glowing verdict of Chelsea new boy Fernandez
Messi heaped massive praise on his Argentine compatriot as the two players participated in La Abiceleste's triumphant FIFA World Cup campaign. Fernandez scored a stunning strike in their vital 2-0 win over Mexico that secured them a place in the last 16. He also provided an assist for Messi's opener.
The legendary forward deemed the new Chelsea midfielder as spectacular in his assessment of the player (via football.london):
"I'm not surprised by Enzo. I know him and I see him train every day. He deserves it because he's a spectacular player."
Fernandez joins a Chelsea side undergoing a rebuild with Potter at the helm. They have lured Mykhaylo Mudryk, David Fofana and Joao Felix to west London this month. Blues fans will hope he can help propel them up the league table as they sit 10th, trailing fourth-placed Manchester United by 10 points.
