The price Chelsea paid for Enzo Fernandez in January might come back to bite them as they look to do more serious transfer work over the summer. Todd Boehly made the 22-year-old the most expensive player in Premier League history, paying £106.8m for his signature.
For a player with just 70 senior games under his belt it was a large fee and a risk to take but the early signs of Fernandez in England have been hugely promising. The World Cup winner has already shown flashes of brilliance for two glorious assists and has picked up the pace in midfield quickly.
After such a frantic move the positivity around the former Benfica man is a big boost in what has been a largely disappointing season for the club. There is still hope that the Blues can finish the campaign strongly though and build for next term.
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That will have to be the hope when it comes to trying to pitch the project to prospective players. Despite the mid-table position Chelsea were able to attract a crop of highly rated youngsters over the winter, giving optimism that the same can be done in the summer even with the prospect of having no European football.
One of the players they may well be hoping to convince is on-fire Napoli forward Victor Osimhen. The 24-year-old has been compared to ex-Blues striker Didier Drogba and is leading the line for Luciano Spalletti's excellent Serie A champions elect. With 23 goals this season he is one of the best in his position in the continent currently and has been linked with a big money move away from Naples.
Massimo Ambrosini believes it will take a new league record to lure the Nigerian to Stamford Bridge though. “Well, Enzo Fernandez joined Chelsea for €120m…” the former AC Milan midfielder said, hinting at Osimhen being worth more than that.
“Something will happen with strikers in the summer. It will all depend on Kylian Mbappé. If there is a new transfer saga, it will cause a domino effect." The battle for top strikers may well dominate the summer window with Harry Kane also tipped to leave Tottenham too.
Another centre forward on the market may well be fellow Serie A man Dusan Vlahovic. The Serbian came close to a switch to Arsenal last season but instead opted to move to Juventus where he has had an up-and-down campaign. The 22-year-old remains hot property though.
“With Dusan Vlahovic, there is a very realistic possibility of a move to the Premier League," said CBS reporter and transfer expert Ben Jacobs to NUFC Matters. "Chelsea and Manchester United are the two primary clubs who are looking at him, Newcastle have sent scouts as well in the past.
“Vlahovic isn’t happy at Juventus and with their point deduction there’s no guarantee he’ll have Champions League football next season. The thing Newcastle need to understand if they’re going to enter that race is if he has any chronic injury problems, the last thing Newcastle want is to sign a player of that quality and find that there’s a hovering injury issue in the background.”
With the battle for the top four all but over for the Blues they may well be relying on their ability to pitch an exciting prospect to both Vlahovic and Osimhen.
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