Chelsea Football Club have finally got their man in 2022 World Cup star Enzo Fernandez in a British record transfer deal paying 105 million pounds to Benfica. Fernandez became the eighth arrival to Chelsea who have spent in excess of an astounding 300 million pounds in the January transfer window itself.
Since the takeover of the club by American businessman Todd Boehly from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovic, there has been a significant investment into transfers bringing in a host of players to the club. However, extended contract periods handed to the new arrivals have allowed Chelsea to bypass financial fair play regulations. Enzo Fernandez reportedly joins on an eight-and-a-half-year deal following Mykhailo Mudryk, Benoît Badiashile among others who have all joined on long time contracts.
The deal for Enzo Fernandez was agreed late on a crazy transfer deadline day that also saw several deals completed out of the blue. The negotiations between Chelsea and Benfica had began in late December after the player had shown exceptional performances as Argentina went on to win the World Cup led by a certain Lionel Messi, to be regarded as the Best Young Player of the tournament.
But after it initially appeared that Benfica would not let their star man leave in the middle of the season, Chelsea came back again with an improved offer matching the release clause that ultimately ended up beign a British record fee.
The deal for Enzo Fernandez has essentially eclipsed what Manchester city paid Aston Villa to bring Jack Grealish to the Etihad Stadium. Chelsea’s dealing became the British transfer record overshadowing the 100 million pounds that City had to shell out for Grealish.
Elsewhere, Chelsea’s notable outgoings saw Arsenal agree a deal to bring Jorginho to the Emirates Stadium permanently, while French club Paris Saint Germain agreed a late deal to bring Moroccan Hakim Ziyech to the capital city on loan.
Manchester United brought in Marcel Sabitzer from the Bundesliga temporarily, while a deal that would see young Chelsea star Connor Gallaghar head out of Stamford Bridge, did not materialize. Nottingham Forest pulled off a blinder signing former Real Madrid star Keylor Navas from PSG on loan.
