Chelsea target Enzo Fernandez has had his ‘head turned’ by the capital club as they continue to pursue a potential deal, journalist Dean Jones has told GiveMeSport.
The 21-year-old only joined Benfica from boyhood club River Plate over the summer, but his impressive performances at the World Cup mean he could be on the move once again very shortly.
Chelsea transfer news – Enzo Fernandez
Fabrizio Romano recently revealed that Chelsea are ‘really advanced’ in their negotiations for Fernandez and they will ‘push’ to get the deal over the line.
“At the moment there are negotiations ongoing for Enzo Fernandez, Chelsea will push this week to get it done, it’s really advanced, but it’s not completed yet,” Romano told CaughtOffside.
“It will depend on Benfica, on president Rui Costa who always said he wanted €120m clause or nothing. Chelsea would ideally like a different structure to the €120m clause, but the player really wants to join.”
Reliable international Sky Sports reporter Gianluca Di Marzio then stated that the Argentina international is ‘very close’ to signing for the capital club.
It’s believed that Benfica are now open to a €127m (£112m) deal in instalments for a player who has made just 25 appearances for them across all competitions.
What has Jones said about Fernandez?
Jones has informed GMS that Benfica’s willingness to negotiate the terms of the transfer have come as a surprise and might be down the fact that Fernandez is eager to make the switch.
Read more: January Transfer Window 2023: When Does It Begin, Rumours and Everything You Need To Know
He said: “I think that it’s quite interesting that the agents involved around this one seem to be convincing Benfica to be open-minded about the terms of the deal.
“That didn’t really seem likely even a week ago, really. So, that’s how fast-moving this is, and I think part of that might be just due to the fact that the player’s had his head turned.”
Where will Fernandez fit in at Chelsea?
Chelsea manager Graham Potter may be forced to reshuffle his engine room over the next couple of transfer windows given the uncertain future of many of his current options.
Both Jorginho and N’Golo Kante are currently out of contract at Stamford Bridge next summer, while loanee Denis Zakaria could return to parent club Juventus following the conclusion of 2022/23.
It’s little surprise that Chelsea are targeting a central midfielder such as Fernandez then, and he could instantly slot into the west London outfit’s starting XI should he make the switch.
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