Football: Chelsea complete record signing of Benfica's Fernandez

LONDON – Enzo Fernandez made his senior debut for Argentina only in September 2022, two years after he made his professional bow in football.

Fast forward a couple of months, and the 22-year-old midfielder was a key player for La Albiceleste, who won the World Cup in Qatar, where he was also

named the best young player of the tournament.

His rise to the top has been fast and furious. It was only last summer that Portuguese club Benfica signed him from Argentina’s River Plate for around €12 million (S$17.2 million) and, on Tuesday, Chelsea made him the most expensive player in Premier League history.

After some complex negotiations with Benfica on transfer deadline day, the Blues’ staggering spending spree continued when they broke the British transfer record to sign Fernandez for €121 million.

“He was absolutely crucial to Argentina winning (the World Cup),” Spanish journalist and football expert Guillem Balague said of Fernandez on the BBC.

“It is down to his reading of the game... He can play in any place in the midfield. He can be a holding midfielder, on the right, on the left, the stats show he increases the quality on the move, he gives the last pass and the one before last – and he’s been scoring as well.

“It’s not easy to find that kind of player that when the game goes into a really high intensity, he still displays good football.”

The deal takes the club’s spending under Todd Boehly’s ownership to close to £600 million (S$971.4 million). 

As the clock ticked down on Tuesday, it appeared a deal might not be reached but a Benfica statement confirmed it had been agreed shortly before 2300 GMT.

They said that Chelsea would pay the contract release fee for Fernandez, who has signed an 8½-year deal with the London club. It takes the Blues’ transfer spending in January alone to more than £300 million.

According to media reports, Chelsea will pay the fee in several instalments.

“Benfica informs that it has reached an agreement with Chelsea FC for the sale of all the rights of the player Enzo Fernandez, for an amount of €121 million,” a Benfica statement read.

The fee eclipses the £100 million Manchester City

paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish in 2021.

Chelsea announced the deal only on Wednesday via a video on Twitter, which showed a clip of a clock ticking down, making a reference to transfer deadline day.

Fernandez was instrumental in Argentina’s

World Cup-winning campaign in Qatar,

breaking into the starting line-up and playing every game, scoring one of the goals in a vital victory over Mexico in the group phase.

He is Chelsea’s eighth recruit in the mid-season transfer window after Mykhailo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke, Andrey Santos, David Fofana and Malo Gusto while Joao Felix arrived on loan from Atletico Madrid.

On Tuesday, Chelsea also

sold experienced midfielder Jorginho to Premier League leaders Arsenal

for £12 million.

In other deals, Manchester United

signed Bayern Munich midfielder Marcel Sabitzer on loan

after being forced into deadline-day action following an ankle injury to Christian Eriksen, which is set to rule the Denmark midfielder out until early May.

Manager Erik ten Hag

completed the loan signing of Netherlands forward Wout Weghorst

earlier in the January transfer window.

Sabitzer, 28, who was previously club captain of RB Leipzig, has won 68 caps for Austria.

“Sometimes in life, you have to make quick and important decisions,” said Sabitzer, who joined for the rest of the season. “From the moment I heard about this opportunity, I knew it was right for me.

“I am a competitive player... I feel that I am at my peak as a player and that I can contribute a lot of experience and energy to the squad.”

Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas joined Nottingham Forest on loan from Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain, while Tottenham Hotspur announced the signing of Sporting Lisbon defender Pedro Porro.

The right-back will join Antonio Conte’s team on loan until the end of the season, with an obligation for Spurs to make the deal permanent at the end of the season for a reported fee of €45 million. Spurs also announced the departure of defender Matt Doherty, who has joined Atletico. REUTERS, AFP