Chelsea broke UK transfer record with Enzo Fernandez deal

Argentina World Cup winner Enzo Fernández has signed an eight-year deal with Chelsea for a staggering $132 million from Benfica, making him the most expensive football player in UK history. The Argentine transfer exceeds Manchester City’s $123 million offer to Aston Villa for Jack Grealish. The 22-year-old will play for the London club until the summer of 2031. Follow us to get the best football tips for today.

 “I am grateful to Chelsea and its ownership for doing everything they could to make me a part of this project,” Fernandez said. “I’m happy and excited to join the Pride of London, to play in the best league in the world and to compete for the biggest trophies. I can’t wait to play in front of our fans and help my team-mates on and off the pitch.” Get your free soccer prediction here! 

The Argentine international, who is Chelsea’s eighth recruit in the mid-season transfer window, played a vital role in Argentina’s World Cup-winning campaign in Qatar. He started each of the national team’s games, and contributed one goal in a crucial group-stage victory over Mexico. He won the Young Player Award later in the competition. 

Fernandez joined Benfica after leaving Argentine club River Plate in August, where he scored four goals in 29 games. In his first 29 Champions League outings, Fernandez had four goals and seven assists, while in the competition’s group stages, only four central midfielders have made more tackles than his 19. The Portuguese club previously turned down requests to release Fernandez.

However, Chelsea agreed a deal on Deadline Day after 12 hours of talks led by Chelsea’s co-owner Behdad Eghbali from London. The Blues reportedly paid the first installment of £30m with the rest of the fee paid in five further installments. Fernandez is set to replace Jorginho, who joined Chelsea’s London rivals Arsenal on Deadline Day. 

“In Enzo we are signing a World Cup-winner and one of the brightest talents in global football,” Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly said. We are excited to add him to Graham’s squad and we are sure he will form an important part of our team going forward. Enzo has demonstrated his ability at the very highest levels so we’re looking forward to seeing what he will do in Chelsea blue!”

Chelsea is 10th in the Premier League right now, 10 points off of the top four. Under manager Graham Potter, who joined the club from Brighton in September following Thomas Tuchel’s dismissal, they struggled to improve their ranking and had won only two of the previous 11 games. The Premier League matchup between Fulham and the Blues is up next.

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