Arsenal look set to hand Todd Boehly a helpful boost in Chelsea's mission to sign Enzo Fernandez from Benfica. The 22-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge this month as Graham Potter looks to bolster his midfield.
football.london understands that signing Fernandez remains the Blues' priority. The west Londoners are said to have held extensive talks yesterday with the Portuguese giants and tabled an offer which is thougth to be worth in excess of the £105million release clause in the 22-year-old's contract.
However, the fee would be spread out over instalments rather than being paid in one go. The Argentina international is eager to join Chelsea this month and it's understood he's reiterated his intent to leave to Benfica.
READ MORE: Chelsea tipped to complete three deadline day transfers including Enzo Fernandez
There is confidence that an agreement will be reached despite only a few hours left of the window, football.london understands. Although Todd Boehly has been far from afraid to splash the cash this transfer window, he may soon have some cash coming back into the transfer pot.
That is because football.london understands that Arsenal have agreed a £12million deal with the Blues to sign Jorginho. It's said that the Gunners will pay £10million up front for the 31-year-old, with a further £2million in add-ons - one of which is dependent on whether the north Londoners win the Premier League.
The Italy international is expected to sign an initial 18-month contract with the option to extend by a further year. Jorginho's move to the Emirates Stadium would gift the west Londoners a healthy windfall which they can use to fund Fernandez's transfer.
Just last month, the Italian was asked about his future, hinting that a long-term future at Chelsea is on the cards. He told talkSPORT: "Of course I do, I love Chelsea. But this is a thing I’m not going to think about now. I need to think about winning games. Otherwise it’s a problem.
"I’ll focus game by game and then we’ll see what’s going to happen. But my mind is on Chelsea now and trying to win as many games as possible."
Before joining Chelsea under Maurizio Sarri, Jorginho was heavily linked with a move to Manchester City when Arteta was Pep Guardiola's assistant. Now, the Arsenal boss looks set to finally get his man as the Gunners look to defend their place at the top of the Premier League.
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