Enzo Fernandez

Chelsea are prepared to meet Benficas valuation of Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez, but only in instalments; Fernandez release clause is £105m; ...

But the owners want to back him. They don't want to worry about the summer. But Sky Sports News have been told Chelsea are not prepared to pay his release clause in full, and instead want to pay it in instalments.

The 21-year-old only joined the Portuguese giants from River Plate back in June yet could be about to join American-owned Chelsea with further discussions ...

Schmidt admitted recently that the Portuguese giants must always be prepared to lose top talent, and there is a risk that Fernandez does not appreciate the club standing in his way if a deal cannot be reached in the coming weeks. In terms of that trio's interest, Real probably make the least sense given that Florentino Perez does like to spend big on World Cup star performers. Chelsea will push again in the next hours and days to sign Enzo Fernandez. It's early, but he has all of the makings of a top midfielder and showed as much in Qatar. He played a big role on Lionel Messi's second goal in the final in extra time, setting up Lautaro Martinez with a well-timed pass before Messi scored the rebound. There has been no shortage of elite clubs taking an interest in the Albiceleste star but it appears that a Premier League move is the most likely outcome at present.

The attempts of Enzo Fernandez to push through his Chelsea transfer could have major consequences amid claims Benfica are planning a response.

The Blues have made a Premier League record offer of £112million to sign the Argentina star off the back of his impressive campaign out in Qatar. Chelsea are ...

[check our sport page](https://metro.co.uk/sport/). ‘And even as a person he is totally identified with the club. [Enzo Fernandez agrees personal terms with Chelsea but Benfica playing hardball](https://metro.co.uk/2023/01/02/enzo-fernandez-agrees-personal-terms-with-chelsea-but-benfica-playing-hardball-18027994/?ico=more_text_links) [Qatar](https://metro.co.uk/tag/qatar/?ico=auto_link_sport_P2_LNK1). [Privacy Policy](https://metro.co.uk/privacypolicy/) [Enzo Fernandez](https://metro.co.uk/tag/enzo-fernandez/?ico=auto_link_sport_P1_LNK1) has told Benfica he does not want to be involved in their game against Portimonense on Friday as he attempts to push through a move to [Chelsea](https://metro.co.uk/tag/chelsea/?ico=auto_link_sport_P1_LNK2).

Chelsea have fallen into the trap of paying an extortionate fee for a player based on the World Cup, when Graham Potter is supposed to be building a ...

[At Nottingham Forest](https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/nottingham-forest-vs-chelsea-player-ratings-azpilicueta-pulisic-boly-2059039?ico=in-line_link) on Sunday, everything about Chelsea looked uncertain, as if someone had walked into 11 different dressing rooms and picked a player from each while blindfolded. And the owner is caught between trying to build for the future and needing quick hits to win over the unconvinced masses, so you buy a 33-year-old striker you don’t fancy and a £112m 21-year-old midfielder to try and account for the subsequent lack of dynamism. The addition of Raheem Sterling (27), Kalidou Koulibaly (31) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (33) makes a muddle of the general policy. [Chelsea ](https://inews.co.uk/topic/chelsea-fc?ico=in-line_link)have been tracking Enzo Fernandez for a while, although given the summer overhaul of their [recruitment department](https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/huge-sense-unfairness-brighton-project-ripped-apart-fans-deflated-1938596?ico=in-line_link) that would seem unlikely. But all three were – or will be – signed at the highest possible price and two of them have lost value since. Where does Graham Potter fit into this, an emphatically long-term project builder who already feels like a stooge, a handy PR image of what Chelsea would like to be if only they could actually become it? Chelsea embraced short-termism because they were damn good at it and they were damn good at it because they embraced short-termism. Since then, Chelsea have spent the most money in one summer of any English club in history. If you are expected to pay an extra £100m for a player because you dallied or dithered or didn’t buy into the hype, you walk away. [Wesley Fofana](https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/wesley-fofana-transfer-leicester-trouble-chelsea-problems-1820005?ico=in-line_link), Cucurella. If there are indeed players who could feasibly provide value for that money, they tread lonely on the highest plane. Certainly don’t pay the fourth most expensive fee in history, they didn’t feel the need to add.

However, the Blues may pounce for Arsenal target Mykhaylo Mudryk in January. Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo will face Lionel Messi in a friendly match this month ...

The 28-year-old would be tied down to the seaside club until 2024 and Brighton would be keen to offer him a new long-term contract with improved terms. Brighton are set to activate a 12-month extension on Leandro Trossard’s current contract to avoid losing him for free at the end of the season. There were strong rumours that he was planning to leave for the United States in the summer, which would have been a bit of a shame. The Blues are sitting in 10th in the Premier League and are having a disappointing campaign. The Blues are in negotiations with super-agent Jorge Mendes and the Portuguese club, who are willing to let Fernandez leave in January, but Benfica are demanding the release clause to be paid in full. Shakhtar are yet to respond to the latest offer from Arsenal but are reportedly prepared to meet with Chelsea later this week regarding a potential deal for Mudryk.

Chelsea are believed to be in talks with Benfica over a money-spinning January move for Enzo Fernandez.

Blues owner Todd Boehly is reportedly set to hold at least one in-person meeting with Benfica in the not-too-distant future as he looks to reach a breakthrough in negotiations, although the proposed move remains some way off being completed in spite of his best efforts thus far. However, it seems as though Benfica's unwavering demands could be set to wreck Chelsea's hopes of bringing the 21-year-old to Stamford Bridge unless they are prepared to budge in negotiations over the coming days. [Chelsea](/latest/chelsea-fc) might be at risk of being priced out of a move for Enzo Fernandez if Benfica fail to adjust their transfer demands before the January window slams shut, according to reports.