Benfica manager Roger Schmidt has claimed that Enzo Fernandez's proposed transfer to Chelsea is "closed" after weeks of negotiations between the Blues and the Portuguese club. A £105million release clause had been placed in the contract of the Argentine midfielder, but Chelsea were far more interested in paying a sizeable transfer fee through instalments.
A total package worth £120million plus another £10million available as performance related add-ons was offered to Benfica for Fernandez, with Rui Costa said to be considering the proposal. However, the Benfica chief's stance of only allowing the deal if the release clause was met remained intact.
According to Fabrizio Romano, the Blues are yet to schedule a new meeting with Benfica after talks over a deal structured with three instalment payments collapsed. Chelsea are said to have officially bid £75million for the 21-year-old, a fee that falls well below Fernandez's release clause.
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Chelsea will hope this is just a minor setback in their pursuit of Fernandez and a compromise can be agreed, with it remaining very clear two potentially world class midfielders are desperately needed at Stamford Bridge.
Fernandez appears very interested in a move to west London, throwing doubt on his future in Portugal after missing two Benfica training sessions in December. It was later revealed he headed back to Argentina to celebrate the new year with his family, a decision he was later fined and reprimanded for.
The 21-year-old missed his side's first game of 2023 where they beat Portimonense 1-0 but manager Roger Schmidt has admitted the World Cup winner will be given a fresh start after heavy links with a possible departure.
Schmidt said: "Now we restart from zero with Enzo. He will be back today (Saturday), we count on him - he's our player, we need Enzo." Despite Schmidt spending a lot of time talking about Fernandez, he has once again been asked about his future at Benfica delivering a frank response.
"I already said that, this question is closed. He's (Enzo Fernandez) one of our players. He's happy, training well, he's part of the team. Everything has been said."
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