Chelsea want to sign Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez before Tuesday’s deadline; Portuguese side have so far refused to do business unless the Blues pay £105.6m release clause; Chelsea have also tried to sign Brighton’s Moises Caicedo and Everton’s Amadou Onana this month.
Todd Boehly’s Blues want to structure that release clause fee in instalments, as paying in one go has Financial Fair Play and tax implications.
Chelsea have been in talks to sign the Argentina World Cup winner throughout this month but Benfica had refused to do business unless the Blues pay the €120m (£105.6m) release clause.
Chelsea had offered players on loan and on permanent deals but the Portuguese side refused to accept anything except the release clause figure.
The midfielder has once again told Benfica that he wants to join Chelsea. If Fernandez does move to Stamford Bridge, he would surpass the £100m Manchester City paid for Jack Grealish from Aston Villa 18 months ago, making him the most expensive Premier League signing ever.
The 22-year-old wants to move to Chelsea but he has been training and playing since he was dropped for one game by Benfica for going on an unauthorised trip home to Argentina for a New Year’s Eve party.
Fernandez, who won the Best Young Player award at the 2022 World Cup with winners Argentina, played in Saturday’s 3-0 league win at Santa Clara.
The west London side have also tried to sign other midfielders this month, including Brighton’s Moises Caicedo and Everton’s Amadou Onana.
Chelsea’s search for a midfielder comes amid question marks over the long-term futures of Jorginho and N’Golo Kante, whose contracts expire at the end of the season.
Fernandez is in line for a big pay rise if he moves but Benfica have been trying to get him to sign a new contract as they anticipate clubs such as Real Madrid and Barcelona will try to sign him in the summer.
Speaking about Fernandez’s situation ahead of Benfica’s match away at Arouca on Tuesday night, Benfica manager Roger Schmidt said his club could not stop the Argentine midfielder leaving if the release clause is met.
“We all know that we have a situation with Enzo that he has a clause in the contract, so that means if the player wants to and there’s a club who pays this amount of money, you cannot stop that,” he said.
“Of course, for this moment, you have to be prepared, we have to find solutions, but at the moment, he’s our player, there’s no deal.
“We will see what happens in the next two days and I’m happy when the transfer window is closed and we can focus completely on the players in the squad and we can try to play a top season.”
“There is a club that wants him, they tried to attract him, but they know that they can only have him if they pay the clause,” he said on January 5.
“It’s disrespectful to all of us, to Benfica. They’re driving the player crazy. They pretend they want to pay the clause and then they want to negotiate.”
Chelsea ‘doing whatever it takes’ to sign Fernandez
“They are doing whatever it takes to sign Enzo Fernandez from Benfica. The player has a release clause of €120m, which is just over £105m.
“Chelsea have said to Benfica that they’ll pay the release clause. I don’t think they will pay it in one go because that would be very complicated in terms of Financial Fair Play and for tax reasons, but what they are saying to Benfica is that they will pay it in six instalments. The first one would be a very large lump sum and then there would be five further instalments.
“This is the player that they really want. And we have seen so far with the new American owners at Chelsea that when they decide to go for a player they normally end up with the man that they want.
“If he was to sign for Chelsea for £105m, it would be an incredible deal for River Plate because they sold him to Benfica last summer for I think about £10m and they have a 25 per cent sell-on clause. So, River Plate will be hoping and praying that Fernandez does indeed sign for Chelsea.”
Gallagher exit likely if Fernandez joins Chelsea
Conor Gallagher is expected to have multiple options to leave Chelsea before the deadline, with Everton in talks for the midfielder.
Clubs from across the Premier League have inquired about both loans and permanent deals for the England midfielder.
Herald Reporters gathered that is has been told Everton have indicated a willingness to pay £40m plus £5m in add-ons to sign him permanently.
At this point, everything is on the table: a loan, a permanent switch or staying at Chelsea, but a move away is more likely if the Blues complete a deal for Fernandez.
But Gallagher is not interested in a move to Everton. It is believed there has been a bid, but the player has interest from multiple other clubs.
Newcastle and Crystal Palace are among the clubs that admire Gallagher, although Chelsea are not keen to loan him to a rival for league position.
If he is loaned out, it is more likely to be a team in the bottom half of the Premier League. A permanent departure is also possible and Gallagher has every reason to feel he can cut it in one of the league’s top teams.
