Chelsea announced the £105 million ($130m) signing of Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez on Tuesday in a dramatic final act of the January window.
The Blues had also pursued Moises Caicedo late in the window, while they sold Jorginho to Arsenal and [decided to keep Conor Gallagher](https://www.goal.com/en/news/chelsea-wont-sell-conor-gallagher-jorginho-exit/blt9f59caec3cdfd10d) in a string of high-stakes midfield decisions. THE BIGGER PICTURE: Fernandez joins Mykhaylo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke, Malo Gusto, Andrey Santos, David Datro Fofana and Joao Felix as January arrivals to Stamford Bridge. It's one of the busiest winter periods any club has ever had - a reflection of Chelsea's urgent desire to finish the season strongly.
The deal for the Argentine surpasses the £100m Manchester City paid for Jack Grealish from Aston Villa 18 months ago.
Large fines or points deductions can be dished out as punishment to clubs which don't adhere to the rules. Following the arrival of Fernandez, Chelsea spent £323.3m in January. Fernandez has already taken responsibility without the ball at Benfica, slotting into an anchorman role regularly as required. [Jorginho, who joined Chelsea's London rivals Arsenal on Deadline Day](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/12799982/jorginho-arsenal-sign-midfielder-from-chelsea-in-deal-worth-12m-on-deadline-day) in a £12m deal. "Should Chelsea want to play with a midfield two, he would offer a better option there too. "Fernandez's attributes make it clear how he can help.
Born in San Martin on the outskirts of Buenos Aires in January 2001, Enzo Fernandez joined River Plate aged just five, having stood out playing for his ...
Fernandez scored 10 goals and registered six assists in 26 appearances for River in league and cup, cementing himself as the box-to-box midfielder he had always aspired to be. He had his third winners’ medal in the same calendar year. Fernandez and the Hawks’ star burned brightest in the Copa Sudamericana, South America’s equivalent of the Europa League. As his fitness and flexibility improved, so did his recovery skills in the middle of the park, suiting Defensa y Justicia’s pressing style. Always a central midfielder, Fernandez progressed through River’s fabled academy system and was called up to the reserve squad early in 2019. Born in San Martin on the outskirts of Buenos Aires in January 2001, Enzo Fernandez joined River Plate aged just five, having stood out playing for his local team Club La Recova.
Chelsea have confirmed the capture of Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for a British record fee of £106.8 million.
Fernandez scored for Argentina in their crucial group stage win against Mexico. Fernandez's arrival follows the departure of Jorginho, who sealed a Transfers
Why have Chelsea broken the British transfer record by signing Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for more than £105m?; the Argentine deep-lying playmaker has ...
He has been one of the league's top tacklers, and only 10 players across the division have won the ball back more in the middle third despite his considerable output further up the pitch. Fernandez has already taken responsibility without the ball at Benfica, slotting into an anchorman role regularly as required. Chelsea's January-long pursuit of Enzo Fernandez has ended with a fee which breaks the British transfer record. The Blues have, among other issues, a major goalscoring problem. The comparison was made by Fernandez's old youth coach Gabriel Rodriguez. The backdrop of Todd Boehly's seemingly endless month of spending does add some context.
The January window was a watershed moment for WSL; British police chiefs apologize for role in Hillsborough.
JWS](https://justwomenssports.com/lynn-williams-gotham-kansas-city-trade-shock-uswnt/) ESPN](https://www.espn.com/soccer/soccer-transfers/story/4865569/bayern-munich-sign-man-citys-joao-cancelo-on-loan-with-70m-permanent-option) AP News](https://apnews.com/article/sports-soccer-paris-saint-germain-fc-lionel-messi-54f0a48fd2e6be7f0619b439bb3099c8) The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jan/31/once-manchester-citys-sibling-nyc-fc-is-now-more-like-a-distant-cousin) [Sky Blue FC](https://www.onceametro.com). Cremonese (Coppa Italia) — Paramount+ [Alessia Russo: Man Utd reject second world-record bid from Arsenal - BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/64468747) Torino (Coppa Italia) — Paramount+ USA Today](https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fsports%2Fsoccer%2F2023%2F01%2F30%2Fsounders-relishing-meaning-opportunity-at-club-world-cup%2F51238321%2F&referrer=sbnation.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sounderatheart.com%2F2023%2F2%2F1%2F23580085%2Fchelsea-set-british-transfer-record-for-enzo-fernandez) [Notre Dame](https://www.onefootdown.com). ](https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/orlando-city-sign-iceland-international-midfielder-dagur-dan-thorhallsson) [MLSSoccer.com](http://MLSSoccer.com) [NYCFC](https://www.hudsonriverblue.com) once helped itself to some of the Premier League side’s best young players. [Seattle Sounders](https://www.sounderatheart.com) will become the first team from the United States and MLS to participate in the tournament.
With the transfer deadline looming, here's the latest on Enzo Fernandez's potential move to Premier League side Chelsea.
After joining Benfica, Fernandez was straight in at the European deep end. However, the Liga Portugal leaders incredibly went on to win Group H, beating Juventus twice and holding Kylian Mbappe and Co. "That means if the player wants to and there is a club who pays this amount of money, you cannot stop that. As long as the transfer window is open, you always have to expect that something can happen… There, his performances were so impressive that Man United, Real Madrid and Inter Milan considered signing him. The figure is significant because it matches the release clause in his contract. “We will see what happens in the next two days. Jacobs has said that Chelsea, Liverpool and Real Madrid will be involved in an "open race" for Fernandez in the summer unless there is a "dramatic" development in January of the kind that Chelsea appear to have now initiated. A spate of injuries in midfield led to Liverpool being strongly linked with Fernandez at the start of the 2022/23 season. He is a great person and player. [Sky Sports](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12800035/enzo-fernandez-set-for-chelsea-medical-in-portugal-in-race-against-time-for-transfer-deadline-day-deal), the Argentina international is currently undergoing a medical with Blues staff and is set to board a flight to London for the official announcement shortly, with the transfer fee paid to Benfica set to be the player's £105 million release clause. What's the current state of play and how likely is Fernandez to be a Premier League player in February?
The story of Enzo Fernandez's incredible rise from the Argentine league to World Cup glory and a £107m move to Chelsea.
"[A fee of] £60-70m to Liverpool or Chelsea in June was what we imagined, so the rush and outlay from Chelsea is surprising. If you have that sort of money why not go for it?" "Enzo Fernandez did not even start in Argentina's starting XI at the World Cup," European football journalist James Horncastle told the Euro Leagues podcast. That's not to say he isn't a fantastic talent, but to consider paying over 120m euros is still just utterly bonkers." Enzo is more of a number eight, box-to-box. [River Plate in English](https://twitter.com/CARP_English)Twitter account, said: "For River Plate he was class. He netted again in the second leg - and has never looked back. "We were always confident of a £12m+ cut. His form was a huge reason they won the 2021 league title. The answer: Seven months later to Chelsea for more than 10 times that amount and as a World Cup winner and also the Premier League's most expensive signing. "He really has the complete skillset. His first start for his country did not come until Argentina's final World Cup group game but he started every game after that.
Chelsea announced on their official website: "Enzo Fernandez is a Blue! The Argentinian midfielder has completed his transfer from Benfica to Chelsea."
Enzo Fernandez has sent a farewell message to now former club Benfica after a British record deal was struck to take him to Chelsea.
Thank you to my colleagues for always treating me in the best way and make me feel at home. Thanks to the club's management and especially to Roger Schmidt and his entire team for their trust and daily respect. Thank you to everyone who works to make the institution even greater than it is.
Chelsea FINALLY unveil Enzo Fernandez! £106.8m record signing dons Blues shirt for the first time after transfer from Benfica. James Hunsley. | 01 Feb 2023 12: ...
The Blues re-launched attempts to sign the 21-year-old after [failing earlier in January](https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/benfica-boss-schmidt-attempts-put-end-chelsea-transfer-saga-insists-fernandez-staying-put/blt74dad3c21f4205ff), beginning tense negotiations that lasted the entirety of deadline day. He starred in Lionel Scaloni's triumphant Argentina squad, winning the Young Player of the Tournament award to gain a host of admirers across Europe. [finally came to an end in the 11th hour of deadline day](https://www.goal.com/en/news/chelsea-sign-enzo-fernandez-record-transfer-benfica-accept-deadline-day-bid/blt2088450ab90ef07c), with Chelsea landing their eighth winter signing in a hectic spending spree.
Enzo Fernandez has spoken after completing a British record transfer to Chelsea, thanking the club's owners for getting a deal over the line.
Benfica were extremely reluctant to let go of their World Cup winning midfielder, though, and ensured Chelsea paid a mammoth fee in order to get their eighth signing of the transfer window over the line. I can’t wait to play in front of our fans and help my teammates on and off the pitch." WHAT NEXT FOR FERNANDEZ?
Chelsea have confirmed that new signing Enzo Fernandez will wear the no.5 jersey following his arrival at Stamford Bridge. His preferred squad number was ...
The deadline day signing of Enzo Fernandez by Chelsea for a British record £106.8m has been destroyed, with two players named as better players.
He’s a good midfielder, he’s tenacious, he’s young, he gets on the ball and he’s brave. The money is irrelevant if you look at it and think he could be here for five or six years. He was the best young player at the tournament in the World Cup I thought. “He played at Benfica a big club in that country and the demands at the club, he’s used to pressure. He’s a good player. Indeed, with nine new signings arriving in the summer window, to the cost of around £280m, it was hard to see how Chelsea could top that.
Enzo Fernandez is the most expensive player in the Premier League, placing him under a spotlight that some have handled better than others.
The adage (one that Arsene Wenger always hammered home to his Arsenal scouts) is that you should never sign a player on the back of their performances at a World Cup. What nobody could have imagined then, though, is that Fernandez would be a £100million-plus footballer in January. [Fernandez is the 17th player to arrive at Chelsea under Todd Boehly’s ownership, at a total cost of around £600million](https://theathletic.com/4142276/2023/02/01/chelsea-transfer-window-spending-finances-why-how/). Manchester United [World Cup](https://theathletic.com/football/world-cup/) that provides a measure of how far he has come in such a short time. Indeed, Lionel Scaloni’s midfield was reconfigured around Fernandez (alongside The midfielder’s introduction from the bench against Fernandez, in contrast, only celebrated his 22nd birthday a fortnight ago and has made just 70 career league appearances (17 for Benfica). Grealish was 25 at the time of his record move, Torres 26, Robinho 24, Shevchenko 29, Veron 26, Shearer 25. Fernandez has time on his side to change that narrative. “The price tag on my head, as soon as you don’t get them (goals and assists), people start talking and doubting you,” he said. Newcastle United