In what might be interpreted as bad news for Chelsea, Enzo Fernández, their main transfer target in this window, scored for Benfica in their Portuguese Cup win over Varzim on Tuesday night. By way of celebration, the Argentinian midfielder engaged in some performative “I’m staying here” nonsense, ostentatiously thumping the badge on his chest, before pointing to himself and then the Portuguese ground beneath his feet. “I can say that I expect Enzo Fernández to stay,” said his manager, Roger Schmidt. “I never doubted Enzo, his attitude and personality. He’s a great person, he’s at Benfica, he loves playing for Benfica.” Expect him to be unveiled at Stamford Bridge within the fortnight.
In more positive news for the Premier League’s crisis club du jour, João Félix is reported to be in London to jog on a treadmill and cough for the doctors before the completion of his loan from Atlético Madrid. There are also whispers that Mauricio Pochettino is “waiting in the wings” to take over if Todd Boehly runs out of patience with Graham Potter and decides to sack him.
While they may not have a place in the Carabao Cup semis with which to entice him, Leicester remain hopeful of signing Nico González from Fiorentina for a fee of up to £27m. A winger who can also play as a centre-forward, the 24-year-old won a World Cup medal with Argentina despite being forced out of the squad after picking up an injury before the tournament started. It is one of several niggles González has struggled with during a season in which he has been limited to 11 appearances for the Serie A side.
Youri Tielemans is out of contract this summer, which means the Foxes are open to offers for their Belgian midfielder but would quite like him to stay even if it means losing out on a fee in six months’ time. Craig Dawson is in a similar position at West Ham and, while demand for the 32-year-old central defender is unlikely to be as high, Wolves would quite like to sign him immediately in the hope of shoring up their defence.
Nottingham Forest are hoping to sign Danilo from Palmeiras. Reports from Brazil suggest the two clubs are in “advanced talks” over a move for the 21-year-old defensive midfielder, have agreed a fee of £12m and are now just haggling over how best to structure the payments.
It seems Tottenham are interested in signing Brentford’s David Raya as a long-term replacement for Hugo Lloris, in a state of affairs that has prompted the Get French Football News website to report Brentford’s interest in the Nantes and former France Under-21 goalkeeper Alban Lafont.
And finally, Everton and Nottingham Forest are prepared to duke it out in a battle to sign the former Bournemouth winger Arnaut Danjuma on loan from Villarreal, while the delightful prospect of hearing someone with a strong Scouse accent managing loads of players with the letter “K” sprinkled liberally throughout their surnames is inching closer now that Steven Gerrard is being linked with the vacant Poland job.
