Chelsea Transfer News: Benfica not looking to negotiate over Enzo Fernández; the Blues must pay €120m release clause

In Chelsea Transfer News, the Blues may be looking to steal a march on potential rivals for Enzo Fernández's signature, but unsurprisingly, Enzo's current team aren't looking to play ball even if we might be willing to break their outgoing transfer record.

Benfica are in no hurry to sell, knowing that they will collect an outsized sum regardless of whether he leaves now or in the summer, and very much needing the 21-year-old midfielder until then as they look to reclaim the Portuguese title after a shocking dry spell of three whole seasons.

Midfielder Fernandez emerged as one of Argentina's standout players in their World Cup triumph, and was handed the FIFA Young Player award for his performances in Qatar.

He only joined Benfica in the summer, and the Portuguese club would prefer to sell at the end of the season when Liverpool and Manchester United could be among an array of European clubs entering the race.

But Chelsea want to do a deal now and are ready to pay a club record amount to secure the 21-year-old's signature.

A fee of £105million for Fernandez would top their previous record outlay – the £97.5m they paid Inter Milan for Romelu Lukaku.

Following the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital takeover, Chelsea have made a number of changes behind the scenes and have a clear plan to bring in young talent under the tutelage of Graham Potter, who was appointed as manager in September.

Chelsea announced on Wednesday a deal for 20-year-old Ivory Coast striker David Datro Fofana.

The Molde starlet will complete a move to the west London club for a transfer fee of £10.6million.

Chelsea are also in advanced talks to sign another 21-year-old – Monaco central defender Benoit Badiashile – for a fee of around £35m.

RB Leipzig and France attacker Christopher Nkunku is bound for Stamford Bridge in 2023 too, with a deal in excess of £50m already struck.

"We don't want to give up Enzo Fernandez in January, but we are willing to please the boy in the event of a €120 million offer."

-Rui Costa; source: DAZN via Goal

That doesn't specifically rule out Chelsea actually paying the clause, or perhaps Fernández pushing for a move, the latter of which seems to be the foremost of Benfica manager Roger Schmidt's concerns.

"Until December 31st we are sure that we have all the players and nobody can leave. For now, we're on the eve of the game and I'm calm. Then the market opens up and when you have players with great talent, you always run the risk of losing players. For now, we're focused on tomorrow's game".

" we all know what football is like. These young people have opportunities, and it's not just about Enzo. If they have opportunities, they have to make decisions, and I respect them. I can advise them, but they only have one career. If I can convince them or influence them in a certain way, I try to do it, but I accept their decisions".

-Roger Schmidt; source: Record via Google Translate

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