Chelsea and Enzo Fernandez have a ‘contractual agreement’ ahead of a move as the Blues inch closer to agreeing on a fee with Benfica.
According to Gaston Edul, Enzo Fernandez and Chelsea have an agreement, possibly over personal terms, ahead of a move in January. The Premier League side are supposedly inching closer to convincing Benfica over the sale of the 21-year-old World Cup star.
Chelsea relentlessly chased Enzo Fernandez right after the World Cup concluded. The midfielder played a huge role for Argentina in the triumph in Qatar, and his performances might earn him a big move away from Benfica in this January window.
The 21-year-old World Cup star was initially linked with Liverpool, Real Madrid, and even Manchester United to an extent. However, it’s Chelsea who have stolen the march since and made their intentions clear to the player and his club Benfica.
Many complications led to the chase, as Benfica wanted to avoid a sale in January. They considered Fernandez a key member of the squad, and having joined them in the summer; the club wanted to keep him for the remainder of the season.
Enzo Fernández tiene un acuerdo contractual con Chelsea. Su entorno está esperando que Benfica y Chelsea se pongan de acuerdo en la forma de pago.
La venta va a rondar los 120 millones de euros.
River va a ganar cerca de 30 millones de euros.
Tiene que resolverse en estas horas. pic.twitter.com/6iQ0RbHICI— Gastón Edul (@gastonedul) January 2, 2023
A summer move might have materialised, and Benfica might even negotiate for the fee. Hence, they remained adamant the only way to get Fernandez was by triggering the €120 million release clause in the Argentine’s contract. Meaning there’s no room for discussions with the Portuguese side.
Chelsea were considering this, but due to Financial Fair Play, they may be unable to pay the full fee at once. Hence, the Blues were willing to offer more than €120 million if they get to structure the payments with Benfica.
As per Gaston Edul, Benfica and Chelsea are inching closer to finding a consensus over the deal, and the Journalist suggests the fee would be €120 million, not more. He also insists the Blues and Fernandez have a ‘contractual agreement’ pointing at personal terms being in place.
If the deal goes through, Fernandez’s former side River Plate will receive €30 million. It is part of their agreement with Benfica for the 21-year-old World Cup star. Overall, Chelsea are on the verge of getting their primary target of January, and soon the Argentine will play at Stamford Bridge.
Fernandez had already signalled his intention to join Chelsea when the approaches came in. In the end, if Chelsea get their way of structuring payments despite paying the amount mentioned as the release clause, it’s a huge victory for the Premier League side in negotiations.
