In a British record deal worth more than £100 million, Benfica has confirmed selling Argentine World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez to Chelsea.
Chelsea made Fernandez a top priority early in the transfer window, but Benfica insisted he was not for sale, so Chelsea appeared to pass on him.
However, in the final days of the transfer window, Chelsea's hierarchy made a new move for Fernandez and eventually got their main in a deal worth 121 million euros (£106.4 million).
Fernandez is now the most expensive Premier League acquisition since Jack Grealish's £100 million move from Aston Villa to Manchester City in the summer of 2021.
Benfica issued a statement confirming the transaction, despite the fact that Chelsea had yet to make an announcement about the move on Tuesday night.
Even though Fernandez only joined Benfica, a Portuguese team, last summer, he helped Argentina win in Qatar, establishing himself as one of the best players in the world.
The 22-year-old, who has signed an eight-and-a-half-year contract with Chelsea, was named young player of the tournament after appearing in all seven of Argentina's World Cup matches.
On the day of the transfer deadline, Fernandez finished his medical in Portugal. On Wednesday, he will travel to London to meet his new teammates.
With Fernandez's arrival at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's January spending has increased to almost £300 million. Earlier in the month, the Blues paid £89 million for Ukrainian international Mykhailo Mudryk.
Malo Gusto, Noni Madueke, David Datro Fofana, Andrey Santos, Benoit Badiashile, and Malo Gusto have all signed long-term contracts with West London. Joao Felix, who is currently on loan from Atletico Madrid, is also at the club.
No comments:
Post a Comment