Chelsea officials could travel to Portugal in the hope of wrapping up a deal for Benfica’s Enzo Fernandez, according to The Telegraph’s Matt Law.
Earlier this month, senior Chelsea executives, including co-owner Behdad Eghbali and Director of Global Talents and Transfers Paul Winstanley flew to Turkey, where Shakhtar Donetsk held a training camp, in order to seal an agreement for Mykhailo Mudryk.
It proved effective.
Mudryk, who was reportedly close to joining Arsenal, eventually became Chelsea’s most expensive signing this month.
According to The Telegraph journalist Law, Chelsea could make a similar move for Fernandez amid Benfica’s resistance.
The situations are completely different, however, since unlike Shakhtar, Benfica are clearly not interested in selling the player.
Benfica manager Roger Schmidt previously claimed that the only way for Fernandez to leave is if a club trigger his €120million (£105m) release clause.
On the other hand, Law, in his article on The Telegraph, mentions that Fernandez actually wants the Stamford Bridge move, while Mudryk had reportedly prioritised a move to Arsenal prior to negotiations with Chelsea.
So, it is Benfica that need convincing in this instance, particularly about the payment terms of a potential deal since Chelsea are said to be prepared to match the release clause but would want to pay the fees in instalments.
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