Chelsea could ‘come back to the table’ for £106m star at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea could ‘still come back to the table’ to sign Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez for Graham Potter, despite the deal appearing to break down, according to journalist Dean Jones.

The Blues have already had a busy transfer window, bringing in the likes of Benoit Badiashile and Joao Felix, but they are still looking to strengthen the squad further, to boost their chances of a top-four finish.

Chelsea transfer news – Enzo Fernandez

Chelsea appeared to be poised to sign Fernandez at the start of the January transfer window, with 90min reporting that a deal in the region of £115m was on the verge of being agreed, however there has since been setbacks in their attempts to bring the midfielder to Stamford Bridge.

According to Benfica manager Roger Schmidt, the potential deal is now ‘closed‘, after talks stalled due to Chelsea wanting to pay the money in installments, a proposal that the Portuguese club were unwilling to agree to, as per the Hard Tackle.

After scoring for Benfica against Varzim SC, the Argentinian celebrated by thumping the badge on his shirt, while also pointing downwards to signify that he is going to stay, as per the Daily Mail, however Jones still believes that a move could be possible…

What has Dean Jones said about Enzo Fernandez?

In an interview with GIVEMESPORT, Jones outlined that there is still a possibility that the Blues sign Fernandez in January, while he was also critical of the way the Blues have gone about their business recently.

The journalist said: “I mean they obviously started by going after Badiashile, suddenly going for Mudryk, there’s been the Enzo Fernandez thing which might still come back to the table, Moises Caicedo in the background.

They’re still potentially looking at a right-back too in this window, and now we’re hearing about Marcus Thuram too, so this is like a real scattergun approach.

Should Chelsea reignite their interest in Fernandez?

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has previously told CaughtOffside that the 21-year-old will not leave unless the £106m release clause in his contract is reached, so it is a deal that Chelsea need to be absolutely sure about before coming back with another offer.

However, it is clear that the youngster is a star in the make, being described as ‘extraordinary’ by his current manager Roger Schmidt, a claim that is backed up by his remarkable performances for both club and country in recent times.

At the World Cup with Argentina, the maestro was ranked as the third-best performer in the squad, averaging a match rating of 7.10, as per SofaScore, trailing only Angel Di Maria and Lionel Messi, while he has also displayed his various talents with Benfica over the past year

The starlet has averaged 9.39 progressive passes per 90, in the 99th percentile compared to his positional peers, highlighting his desire to progress his team into attacking areas, while a per 90 average of 0.2 assists places him in the 90th percentile, as per FBref.

With both Jorginho and N’Golo Kante‘s contracts set to expire at the end of the season, as per Transfermarkt, Potter needs new reinforcements in the centre of midfield, and Fernandez would be the perfect signing.

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