Chelsea open to making second bid for midfielder with nine-digit release clause

Chelsea don’t rule out second bid for Benfica star Enzo Fernandez in January

According to the Telegraph (h/t Football.London), Chelsea could submit a fresh offer for Enzo Fernandez as the club is still interested in acquiring the 2022 World Cup champion.

He is said to have a £106 million release clause in his contract, which the Blues have been reluctant to meet. If that is the case, one can expect their second bid to fall below this amount.

That seems rather obvious, in all honesty. If they were to meet that valuation, they wouldn’t have had to negotiate with Benfica and straightaway buy Enzo out of their hands.

Now, it is believed that Chelsea are once again eager to make a new offer in an effort to persuade the Portuguese powerhouses.

The Blues’ games have shown a need for a midfielder as Chelsea’s midfield frequently appeared to disappear or was easily overrun by opponents. They were lacking a creative midfielder with the power to affect the game.

With N’Golo Kante injured, Jorginho and Mason Mount have looked ineffective and failed to influence games from the middle of the park. Chelsea are also yet to extend Kante and Jorginho’s contracts, which expire at the end of the 2022–23 season (Transfermarkt).

With four goals and five assists in 24 appearances across all competitions, Fernandez has shown his ability to make a tangible impact even from deep midfield. He can play as a number six and a number eight – which is always a bonus for us.

The Argentine has played 1120 minutes in Liga Portugal, and he averages 1.8 key passes per game and an 89.2 percent pass success rate.

He is young and can only get better with time. We seem to be having a truckload of cash under Todd Beohly and have apparently agreed on a 100million Euros fee to sign Mykhaylo Mudryk. To then spend so much on Enzo in the winter would be truly amazing and hopefully something that doesn’t ring alarm bells in the Financial Fair Play office.

More Chelsea News:

• Chelsea will make a decision on the future of David Datro Fofana in the second half of January
• Pep Guardiola urges Chelsea owner Todd Boehly to give Graham Potter time
• Chelsea target Wilfried Zaha could only leave Crystal Palace in the summer

In the World Cup, he was introduced as a substitute in Argentina’s match against Saudi Arabia and certainly showed his attributes, earning him the right to start every match of the tournament. This level of maturity- to start for the to-be World Champions in Qatar and put in impressive performances – just goes to show that he is destined for big things.

Let’s just hope that Benfica are open to negotiating with us for a fee that falls below that audacious release clause.