Chelsea 'in for a shock' with £106m star at Stamford Bridge | OneFootball

Chelsea need to be 'very careful' with new signing Enzo Fernandez and temper their 'excitement' over the immediate impact he may have at the club, journalist Paul Brown has informed GIVEMESPORT.

The Argentina international was one of eight signings Graham Potter sealed this window, coming in alongside Mykhailo Mudryk, Joao Felix, Andrey Santos, David Datro Fofana, Malo Gusto, Benoit Badiashile and Noni Madueke.

On deadline day, Sky Sports News reported that Chelsea had completed the purchase of Fernandez from Benfica for a British record fee of £106.8 million.

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The 22-year-old has put pen to paper on an eight-and-a-half-year deal in West London, following a month of intense negotiations with Benfica to try and thrash out a deal for his services.

Fernandez has since gone on to make his Chelsea debut, playing the full 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge in a 0-0 draw against Fulham last Friday evening.

The midfielder showed glimpses of promise throughout the match and nearly scored a stunning effort from outside the area in the second half; however, could not prevent his side from dropping points against a stubborn opponent.

What has Paul Brown said about Enzo Fernandez?

Journalist Brown has warned that the hype surrounding Fernandez from some footballing circles may be 'a little bit over the top right now' as he settles into Premier League life.

Brown told GMS: "I think everyone needs to be very careful with Enzo Fernandez and I'm pretty sure Graham Potter will say the same thing. Enzo Fernandez is not a £100 million player; Chelsea have paid that money because they believe he will become a £100 million player or probably even greater than that and he may well do, though anyone expecting him to come in and be the best player in the Premier League straight away is in for a shock.

"Enzo Fernandez is a brilliant player with huge potential, but I think the excitement among the Chelsea fan base might be a little bit over the top right now; let's just see how he does."

Will Enzo Fernandez succeed at Chelsea?

Of course, it is never easy to tell how a player will adjust to a different league. Nevertheless, based on his early signs against Fulham, Fernandez showed that he does have the potential to be a critical player for Chelsea in the long term.

Before completing his move to Stamford Bridge on deadline day, the 22-year-old had put in some excellent performances for Benfica in the first half of 2022/23 across all competitions, registering four goals and seven assists from 29 appearances, as per Transfermarkt.

It may be difficult to assess Fernandez's impact at Chelsea in the immediate climate as a flurry of new arrivals try to gel together on and off the field.

Signing Fernandez on an eight-and-a-half-year contract demonstrates a significant commitment by the Blues to invest in his future, which is something they will hope pays dividends in the coming years.