Reports have claimed that Benfica wanted to bring in Mateo Kovacic as part of Chelsea’s deal to sign Enzo Fernandez.
According to Record, the Portuguese club were seemingly interested in one of the club’s key midfielders if they were to let their World Cup winner leave midway through the season.
The Blues established the 22-year-old as the number one target to strengthen the middle of the park ever since his impressive performance in Qatar.
He was crowned the young player of the tournament for his displays on route to winning the whole thing.
Chelsea did not get things their own way when it came to negotiations though. A number of times it looked as if the deal was set to collapse due to Rui Costa’s demands of release clause or nothing.
However, when a bid came in for the equivalent fee in a number of instalments, the Portuguese club couldn’t say no in the final hours of the window.
Benfica wanted Kovacic for Fernandez
Record have reported that Benfica had pitched an idea for the deal to include a Chelsea player, in particular Kovacic.
The Croatian joined the Blues for £40m after spending a season on loan at Stamford Bridge, and he has continued to become more important every year he has been with the club.
While Chelsea were never likely to part ways last month with the midfielder, they were happy to lose other options in the position.
They couldn’t reject a bid from Arsenal to sign Jorginho, with the Italian having a contract set to expire at the end of the season.
Conor Gallagher was also the subject of an extremely tempting offer from Premier League side Everton. However, the players unwillingness to move to Goodison Park saw that deal shot down late in the window.
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