Chelsea will spend more than £106 million to complete any deal with Enzo Fernandez before the tranfer window closes.
Previous reports had indicated that the Blues were’very close’ to completing a deal for Fernandez, with the West London club willing to break the Premier League transfer record to land the midfielder in a deal that would be worth £112 million. The deal would also break the record for the highest transfer fee ever paid for a Premier League player.
The price, which was £6 million more than what Fernandez’s release clause required, was scheduled to be paid in equal parts over the course of three installments. A method like that would have enabled the Blues to split the recording of the fee across multiple separate fiscal years; however, that particular formula was not used.
The current Premier League club record transfer is £100 million, which was paid by Manchester City to sign Jack Grealish from Aston Villa in 2021. Should the move for the Argentina international be finalized by Chelsea, who will have to at least meet the player’s clause, the record will be broken, and Chelsea will become the club with the highest transfer fee in Premier League history.
It has since been reported that Benfica were not willing to countenance Chelsea’s idea of paying for Fernandez in instalments. Furthermore, a new report in Portuguese outlet Record claims that the Portuguese league leaders were attempting to raise the player’s release clause to £132 million in a new contract in order to secure a larger fee. This is in response to the fact that Benfica are currently leading the Portuguese league.
Even if that agreement is not reached, it is claimed that should Chelsea trigger the player’s current release clause – the only conditions that they appear to be able to secure Fernandez – it will mean that they will also be obligated to pay taxes in addition to the fee. This is the case even if that agreement is not found.
This additional taxes might be worth up to £35 million, which would raise the deal to over £140 million. This may help explain why the Blues have been reluctant in the past to comply to the demands that Benfica has made. However, with only two days left of the transfer window, it is possible that they will be obliged to make a decision.
In Qatar, Fernandez drew a lot of attention to himself after scoring a spectacular goal for Argentina in their group stage victory over Mexico. The score was 2-0. The midfielder had to wait until September to earn his first international cap. However, when Lionel Scaloni decided to put him in the starting lineup for the group’s third game and onward, his team underwent a complete transformation.
The young player, who is only 21 years old, was selected to start for Argentina in all of their remaining matches in the competition, including the thrilling championship game win against France. As a result of his outstanding play, he was awarded the title of Young Player of the Tournament.
Many of the top clubs in the Premier League have expressed interest in him as a potential signing. Before it was said that Manchester United had passed Jurgen Klopp’s side in the race, it was reported that Liverpool had signed a “pre-contract agreement” with the player. This was before it was said that Manchester United had the upper hand.