(Football news) Chelsea have completed the transfer of midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for £106.8m, breaking the £100m transfer record Manchester City paid for Jack Grealish for Aston Villa 18 months ago. The 22 year old Argentina joined Benfica last summer for just £10m and has signed an eight-and-a-half-year deal at Chelsea until the summer of 2021. The Blues have been in talks with the Portuguese club throughout the month but Benfica insisted on his release clause of €120m being paid. The agreement was reached at 9:15 pm on Deadline day after Chelsea agreed to pay €121m after negotiations were led by co-owner Behdad Eghbali.
As per the transfer agreement, Chelsea will pay the first instalment of £30m and the remaining fee in five further instalments. The player was left out of Benfica’s squad against Arouca on Tuesday night and is now expected to undergo a medical in Portugal before travelling to London. He is expected to fly to the UK on Wednesday morning with a private jet with the plane scheduled for 10:20 am (UK time). Chelsea have spent a total of £323.3m in the January transfer window, signing 8 players.
Fernandez has the second most assists in the Primeira Liga halfway through his first season with Benfica. Nobody in the Portuguese top flight has made more passes that the Argentine and can provide that ‘X’ factor in the final third and could prove to be a formidable replacement for Jorginho, who has transferred to Arsenal. Fernandez can slot into an anchorman role and is one Primeira Liga’s top tackles, being amongst the top 10 players who have won the ball in the middle third despite also contributing further up the pitch.
Chelsea transfers in the January window
Benoit Badiashile – Monaco, £35m
David Datro Fofana – Molde, undisclosed (reported £10m deal)
Andrey Santos – Vasco da Gama, undisclosed (reported £18m deal)
Joao Felix – Atletico Madrid, £9.7m loan
Mykhailo Mudryk – Shakhtar Donetsk, £88.5m
Noni Madueke – PSV Eindhoven, £29m
Malo Gusto – Lyon, £26.3m
Enzo Fernandez – Benfica, £106.8m
Also read: Manchester United sign midfielder Marcel Sabitzer from Bayern Munich on loan
