Chelsea moved even closer to signing ‘spectacular’ player yesterday, they’ve made huge bid now – journalist

Add as preferred source on Google

Journalist Cesar Luis Merlo has claimed on Twitter that Chelsea yesterday moved closer to signing Enzo Fernandez from Benfica.

It has been widely reported that the Blues are now really keen on signing the 21-year-old next month, after a string of sensational performances at the World Cup.

Fernandez was not actually originally a starter for Argentina, however their underwhelming start to the competition saw the manager look to make changes.

The former River Plate man soon became an essential part of the team that went on to win the World Cup.

He has previously received praise from no other than Lionel Messi, who described his international teammate as ‘spectacular’.

Reports since the tournament have claimed that Chelsea have joined the race to sign Fernandez, who was already on the radar of a number of Premier League sides.

Chelsea make progress on Fernandez

However, it is believed the Blues are pushing hard to jump the queue and sign him in January.

While Benfica have been well reported to be firmly against losing their star player midway through the season, they are of the knowledge that the Blues have the ability to trigger his release clause.

Now, Merio has claimed that yesterday the Blues moved closer to convincing the Portuguese side to negotiate over the 21-year-old.

He said: “Chelsea accelerated today for Enzo Fernández and offered € 127M for his pass.

“Benfica wants to keep him, but opened a minimal chance to negotiate payment methods and other aspects. If it closes at that figure, River will receive € 31,750,000M.”

The Blues will certainly need to add to their midfield in the next few windows, with there still being a chance that both N’golo Kante and Jorginho will leave the club at the end of the season when their contracts expire.