Enzo Fernandez could prove Jurgen Klopp right over…

Enzo Fernandez could prove Jurgen Klopp right over Liverpool summer transfer plan

When Chelsea owner Todd Boehly woke up this morning, he would have been forgiven having a tear in his eye.

After all, the realisation he couldn't sign any more players until the summer transfer window must have hit hard given the manner in which the Londoners have been splashing the cash since he assumed control at Stamford Bridge last May.

The outgoing world champions have splurged an astonishing £540million on 16 players - 14 permanent, two on loan - since the end of last season, with another in France international Christopher Nkunku on his way in the summer.

Chelsea's centrepiece, though, was the deadline day capture of Enzo Fernandez from Benfica having eventually persuaded the Portuguese side to part with their Argentina World Cup winner after meeting the release clause of £107million.

Liverpool, who have long made Jude Bellingham their midfield priority, had previously looked at the 22-year-old but didn't make any interest concrete. Indeed, the player had been widely valued at barely half before the World Cup in which he was important to Argentina's success.

Intriguingly, however, it appears no other club were willing to do business at that lofty asking price. And, were Chelsea in the market for Bellingham this summer, it seems unlikely they will now look to pursue a deal. Not even Boehly can continue to conjure up both the cash and creativity to continue circumnavigating financial fair play rules.

But there's another undisputed reason for Liverpool taking genuine encouragement from the example set by the transfer. And it's all explained by one glance at the Premier League table.

While the Reds have slumped dramatically compared to the heights scaled last season, they still remain ahead of Chelsea on goal difference with a game in hand, the pair a sizeable 10 points adrift of the top four and the Champions League places.

There are obvious parallels between the struggles of the two sides. Both played 63 games last term and have been hampered by the physical and, in Liverpool's case at least, mental fatigue of such exertions, exacerbated further by a number of key players having featured in the World Cup. Small wonder the two squads have been beset by injuries.

And their most realistic chance of qualifying for the Champions League next season is winning the competition this time around. Chelsea face Borussia Dortmund in the last 16, Liverpool preparing for a rerun of last campaign's final against Real Madrid.

But that there is a very real chance of missing out on Europe's premier cup competition hasn't stopped the Londoners from persuading Fernandez - or their myriad of other January arrivals - to join.

Of course, with Chelsea essentially buying a new team for next season, Fernandez was no doubt swayed by the prospect of becoming integral to their future iteration. And the deep pockets of Boehly will no doubt make it more than worthwhile financially for the midfielder, particularly on a curiously-manufactured eight-and-a-half-year contract.

Yet the fact remains Chelsea, like Liverpool, are outsiders for Champions League qualification. And it hasn't necessarily impacted on their transfer plans.

"If you ask a player and he says, ‘next year you are not in the Champions League and I would prefer to go to a football club who plays this year and maybe not next year’ then I am not sure I would still want this player, to be honest," said Jurgen Klopp, speaking over Christmas.

Fernandez is clearly one such player. Klopp will hope his own summer midfield targets - with Bellingham the standout - follow the same example.

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