Reports : Chelsea FC New British Transfer Record Signing States The Major Reasons why He joined Chelsea FC

Chelsea have completed the signing of Enzo Fernandez for £106m, in what is a British transfer record.

 

The Blues met Benfica’s release clause for the Argentina midfielder shortly before Tuesday’s 11pm transfer deadline.

 

A statement from the Portuguese side confirmed the deal past midnight, after Chelsea had rushed to complete the transfer.

 

It takes Chelsea’s spending this month to over £300m, while the transfer of Fernandez breaks the previous Premier League record set by Manchester City and their £100m signing of Jack Grealish in August 2021.

 

The 22-year-old Fernandez was named the best young player at the World Cup and starred for Argentina as they lifted the trophy in Qatar. He was signed by Benfica for around €10 million last summer and had made just 29 appearances for the club.

 

Benfica were adamant that Fernandez would not be sold at a price below his release clause and Chelsea eventually met their demands shortly before the 11pm transfer deadline, when an agreement was reached between the clubs over the structure of the payments.

 

River Plate, who were Fernandez’s first club in Argentina, will receive 25 per cent of the fee due to a sell-on clause included in the previous deal.

 

Fernandez is set to sign an eight-and-a-half-year contract at Stamford Bridge, as Chelsea continued their approach of signing up some of the game’s most promising young stars to long-term deals.

 

The signing of Fernandez is Chelsea’s seventh major transfer of the January window, following Mykhailo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke, Malo Gusto, Andrey Santos and David Datro Fofana. Joao Felix has also arrived on loan until the end of the season.

 

In total, Chelsea have spent more this month than the rest of the Premier League combined did in January 2022.