Chelsea meet €120m release clause for Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez | OneFootball

Chelsea have submitted a bid of €120 million for Benfica’s Enzo Fernandez, according to Sky Sports.

Fernandez arrived at Benfica back in June from River Plate, signing a five-year contract for an estimated fee of €10m. He has featured 29 times for the Eagles, scoring on four occasions.

In the last year, the 22-year-old has broken into the Argentina first team. He was an important part of Lionel Scaloni’s side that won the World Cup in Qatar last month, featuring in all seven games and earning the Young Player of the Tournament award.

The midfielder has been eyed by several top clubs across Europe. Manchester United and Liverpool have both been cited with an interest, while Real Madrid and Barcelona have also been linked.

However, the only concrete offers have come from Chelsea. In the last few weeks, the Blues have been working on a deal to bring Fernandez to Stamford Bridge.

And now it seems like they have reached an agreement. According to Sky Sports, the south-west London outfit have offered €120m for the Argentine, meeting his release clause.

Should the transfer go through, it would take Chelsea’s spending to over €600m since the arrival of new owner Todd Boehly in May. Additionally, Fernandez would become the most expensive player in British football history, surpassing Jack Grealish.

The Blues have already been the busiest Premier League side in January. Fernandez could be their eighth signing of the window, following Mykhailo Mudryk, Joao Felix, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke, Malo Gusto, Andrey Santos and David Datro Fofana.

Despite this, things haven’t been so encouraging on the pitch. Graham Potter’s men sit in tenth place in the Premier League, having won just two of their last 11 fixtures.

The next month is a potentially huge one for Chelsea. They have three London derbies coming up, as well as a Champions League round of 16 first leg against Borussia Dortmund.