Chelsea has signed Benfica’s Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez for a British record 121m euro (£107m) transfer fee.
The deal eclipses the £100m Manchester City paid for Jack Grealish in 2021.
Fernandez, who only joined Benfica for a reported £10m in August, was named young player of the tournament during Argentina’s World Cup triumph in Qatar.
The 22-year-old’s arrival takes Chelsea’s January spending to £289m, according to transfer website Transfermarkt.
He has signed an eight-and-a-half-year contract at Stamford Bridge.
The deal follows an outlay of £270m in the summer – a record for a British club in the summer window – taking their total spend under new American owner Todd Boehly to more than £550m on 17 new players.
It is the joint-sixth most expensive signing of all-time, equalling the 120m euros Barcelona paid for France forward Antoine Griezmann in 2019.
Fernandez, signed by Benfica from Argentine side River Plate, has scored four goals in 29 appearances for the Primeira Liga side.
Benfica confirmed on Tuesday night that River Plate will earn 25% of the transfer fee, around 30m euros.
He scored once during the World Cup, netting Argentina’s second goal in their 2-0 group-stage win over Mexico.
“The spending now from Chelsea is a staggering, eye-watering amount of money,” said BBC Radio 5 Live senior football reporter Ian Dennis.
“What an excellent bit of business from Benfica, who held their nerve because Chelsea has pursued him throughout the whole window. Bit of brinkmanship and they’ve got their rewards.”
European football expert Guillem Balague added: “He didn’t start the World Cup but he was absolutely crucial to Argentina winning it. It is down to his reading of the game.
“You look at what he did during the World Cup and you think ‘really? Is that 121m euros?’ but the answer is no – you didn’t see the full picture. He is much more than that.
“He can play in any place in the midfield. He can be a holding midfielder, on the right, on the left, the stats show he increases the quality on the move, he gives the last pass and the one before last – and he’s been scoring as well.
“It’s not easy to find that kind of player that when the game goes into a really high intensity he still displays good football.”
Source – BBC
