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Chelsea had been in talks to signal the World Cup winner all through January, however Benfica had refused to do enterprise until the Blues paid his €120m launch clause.
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Chelsea have signed midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for a British-record £106.8m.
The deal for the Argentine surpasses the £100m Manchester Metropolis paid for Jack Grealish from Aston Villa 18 months in the past.
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The 22-year-old, who solely joined Benfica final summer season for round £10m, has signed an eight-and-a-half-year deal at Stamford Bridge to maintain him on the membership till the summer season of 2031.
The Premier League’s document buys
- Enzo Fernandez – Benfica to Chelsea, January 2023 – £106.8m
- Jack Grealish – Aston Villa to Manchester Metropolis, summer season 2021 – £100m
- Romelu Lukaku – Inter Milan to Chelsea, summer season 2021 – £97.5m
- Romelu Lukaku – Everton to Manchester United, summer season 2017 – £90m
- Paul Pogba – Juventus to Manchester United, summer season 2016 – £89m
- Mykhailo Mudryk – Shakhtar Donetsk to Chelsea, January 2022 – £88.5m
Chelsea had been in talks to signal the World Cup winner all through January, however Benfica had refused to do enterprise until the Blues paid his €120m launch clause.
However Chelsea agreed a deal of €121m at 9.15pm on Deadline Day after 12 hours of talks led by Chelsea’s co-owner Behdad Eghbali from London.
The Blues can pay a primary instalment of £30m with the remainder of the price paid in 5 additional instalments.
Fernandez was omitted of Benfica’s squad for his or her recreation towards Arouca on Tuesday night time, with the 22-year-old present process a medical in Portugal forward of his change to Stamford Bridge.
In keeping with Portuguese broadcaster SIC, Fernandez will fly to the UK on Wednesday morning, with a non-public jet scheduled to depart Lisbon airport at 10.20am.
Fernandez will assist to switch Jorginho, who joined Chelsea’s London rivals Arsenal on Deadline Day in a £12m deal.
Learn extra tales from Sky Sports activities
Sky Sports activities’ Ron Walker:
“Fernandez’s attributes make it clear how he can help. Still only halfway through his first season with Benfica, he has racked up the second-most assists in the Primeira Liga, and created 30 chances for his team-mates – some of them particularly eye-catching, and a stunning pinpoint set-up for Goncalo Ramos against Sporting earlier this month perhaps the pick of the bunch.
“It’s that sort of playmaking potential which had Manchester Metropolis and Actual Madrid occupied with bringing him in from boyhood facet River Plate final summer season earlier than he settled on a transfer to Lisbon.
“No one in the Portuguese top flight has made more passes than the Argentine, and if he does prove to replace Jorginho at Stamford Bridge, he will also provide something extra in the final third where he tops the charts for passes too.
“Ought to Chelsea wish to play with a midfield two, he would supply a greater possibility there too. Fernandez has already taken accountability with out the ball at Benfica, slotting into an anchorman function recurrently as required. He has been one of many league’s prime tacklers, and solely 10 gamers throughout the division have received the ball again extra within the center third regardless of his appreciable output additional up the pitch.”
How much did Chelsea spend in January?
Following the arrival of Fernandez, Chelsea spent £323.3m in January. Here are the deals the Blues made:
- Benoit Badiashile – Monaco, £35m
- David Datro Fofana – Molde, undisclosed (reported £10m deal)
- Andrey Santos – Vasco da Gama, undisclosed (reported £18m deal)
- Joao Felix – Atletico Madrid, £9.7m loan
- Mykhailo Mudryk – Shakhtar Donetsk, £88.5m
- Noni Madueke – PSV Eindhoven, £29m
- Malo Gusto – Lyon, £26.3m
- Enzo Fernandez – Benfica, £106.8m
Chelsea have splashed over £323m in this January transfer window after completing a British record deal for Benfica’s Enzo Fernandez – so how are they able to spend such huge sums and stay within Financial Fair Play rules?
The UEFA FFP regulations are designed to limit excessive spending and there are also Premier League rules which put a cap on the losses a club can suffer over a three-year period. Large fines or points deductions can be dished out as punishment to clubs which don’t adhere to the rules.
But with the Blues agreeing a £106.8m transfer for Fernandez, new Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly will have overseen a spend £600m since the takeover in May 2022 – and they appear to have stayed within the guidelines.
Soccer finance skilled Kieran Maguire spoke to Sky Sports activities Information to elucidate.
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