Chelsea 'one step away' from beating Liverpool, Man Utd to sign €130m Argentine midfielder
Chelsea are closing in on signing Benfica and Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez, according to Spanish journalist Matteo Moretto.
Fernandez was named Young Player of the Tournament as Argentina won the World Cup in Qatar this winter.
He had a terrific tournament, helping his country beat France on penalties in the final.
The 21-year-old is strongly linked with a move to Liverpool, with Real Madrid also interested.
However, it later emerged that Manchester United were winning the race following the player's exploits at the World Cup.
And now Chelsea are the favourites, according to multiple reports, with Todd Boehly packing his checkbook after a spending spree last summer.
Benfica boss Roger Schmidt has acknowledged Fernandez may have played his last game for the Portuguese giants but has praised the young midfielder, who was signed from River Plate in July.
They only paid 12 million euros and should make a huge profit six months later. River Plate would make big money from the potential sale of Fernandez after he included a 25% sell clause in his summer transfer.
Fernandez has a €120m release clause in his contract, however, Chelsea don't want to trigger it as it will have to be paid up front.
That's according to Relevo correspondent Matteo Moretto, who says the Blues will pay a fixed price and extras, totaling €130m (£115m).
Benfica hopes a deal can be reached 'in the first week of January' after 'opening the door' to sell the World Cup winner.
Moretto claims Chelsea are 'one step away' from finalizing the signing after talks 'intensified' over the past few hours and that a deal is close.
Fernandez has already agreed to join the club from Stamford Bridge, which means Liverpool will miss out on one of their main targets. Their pursuit of Jude Bellingham has become much more serious…
Boehly was able to complete the deal without a hitch thanks to his close relationship with midfield agent, Jorge Mendes.
Manchester United are said to have "been the team most interested" in signing Fernandez, but "fallen behind" after failing to submit a bid.
Fernandez didn't start in Argentina's World Cup opener against Saudi Arabia and also came off the bench on Matchday 2, scoring a stunning goal against Mexico.
After that he was a mainstay in Lionel Scaloni's starting XI as Argentina won it all.
He played every minute of the knockout stage, helping his side defeat Australia, the Netherlands, 2018 runners-up Croatia and defending champions France.
Fernandez has made 25 appearances in all competitions for Benfica in 2022-23.
READ MORE: When do we judge Nunez by 'Man Utd rule' and call him shit? While the Mailbox is divided on Ronaldo…
Chelsea are closing in on signing Benfica and Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez, according to Spanish journalist Matteo Moretto.
Fernandez was named Young Player of the Tournament as Argentina won the World Cup in Qatar this winter.
He had a terrific tournament, helping his country beat France on penalties in the final.
The 21-year-old is strongly linked with a move to Liverpool, with Real Madrid also interested.
However, it later emerged that Manchester United were winning the race following the player's exploits at the World Cup.
And now Chelsea are the favourites, according to multiple reports, with Todd Boehly packing his checkbook after a spending spree last summer.
Benfica boss Roger Schmidt has acknowledged Fernandez may have played his last game for the Portuguese giants but has praised the young midfielder, who was signed from River Plate in July.
They only paid 12 million euros and should make a huge profit six months later. River Plate would make big money from the potential sale of Fernandez after he included a 25% sell clause in his summer transfer.
Fernandez has a €120m release clause in his contract, however, Chelsea don't want to trigger it as it will have to be paid up front.
That's according to Relevo correspondent Matteo Moretto, who says the Blues will pay a fixed price and extras, totaling €130m (£115m).
Benfica hopes a deal can be reached 'in the first week of January' after 'opening the door' to sell the World Cup winner.
Moretto claims Chelsea are 'one step away' from finalizing the signing after talks 'intensified' over the past few hours and that a deal is close.
Fernandez has already agreed to join the club from Stamford Bridge, which means Liverpool will miss out on one of their main targets. Their pursuit of Jude Bellingham has become much more serious…
Boehly was able to complete the deal without a hitch thanks to his close relationship with midfield agent, Jorge Mendes.
Manchester United are said to have "been the team most interested" in signing Fernandez, but "fallen behind" after failing to submit a bid.
Fernandez didn't start in Argentina's World Cup opener against Saudi Arabia and also came off the bench on Matchday 2, scoring a stunning goal against Mexico.
After that he was a mainstay in Lionel Scaloni's starting XI as Argentina won it all.
He played every minute of the knockout stage, helping his side defeat Australia, the Netherlands, 2018 runners-up Croatia and defending champions France.
Fernandez has made 25 appearances in all competitions for Benfica in 2022-23.
READ MORE: When do we judge Nunez by 'Man Utd rule' and call him shit? While the Mailbox is divided on Ronaldo…
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