Chelsea have reached a British record 121 million euro (£107 million) deal for Benfica’s Argentinian midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
FEBRUARY 1: The deal dwarfs the £100m Manchester City paid for Jack Grealish in 2021.
Benfica said in a statement that it had “reached an agreement with Chelsea FC for the sale of all the rights of the player Enzo Fernández”.
Fernández, who only joined Benfica for £10m in August, was named young player of the tournament during Argentina’s World Cup triumph in Qatar.
The 22-year-old’s arrival brings Chelsea’s January spending to £288m, according to transfer website Transfermarkt.
That follows a £292m outlay in the summer, a record for a British club in the summer window.
He is the sixth most expensive signing of all time, equaling the 120 million euros Barcelona paid for French striker Antoine Griezmann in 2019.
Fernández, signed by Benfica from Argentine River Plate, has scored four goals in 29 appearances for the Primeira Liga side.
He scored once during the World Cup, netting Argentina’s second goal in their 2–0 group stage win over Mexico.
Chelsea signed Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk, David Datro Fofana, Andrey Santos, Benoit Badiashile and Malo Gusto on permanent deals in January.
He has also brought Joao Félix on loan from Atlético de Madrid.
The Blues sit 10th in the Premier League, 10 points from the competition’s places in the Champions League after 20 games.
The club was bought for £4.25bn by a consortium led by US investor Todd Boehly last May, after the previous owner, Roman Abramovich, was sanctioned for his links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The highest transfer fees in the world
neymar [Barcelona – Paris St-Germain] £200 million in 2017
kylian mbappe [Monaco – Paris St-Germain] £166 million in 2017
Felipe Coutinho [Liverpool – Barcelona] £142 million in 2018
Ousmane Dembele [Borussia Dortmund – Barcelona] total fee of £135 million in 2017
joao felix [Benfica – Atletico Madrid] £113 million in 2019
antoine griezman [Atletico Madrid to Barcelona] £107 million in 2019
Enzo Fernandez [Benfica to Chelsea] £106 million in 2023
