Chelsea had been in talks to signal the World Cup winner all through January, however Benfica had refused to do enterprise except the Blues paid his €120m launch clause.Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesChelsea have signed midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for a British-record £106.8m.The deal for the Argentine surpasses the £100m Manchester Metropolis paid for Jack Grealish from Aston Villa 18 months in the past.The 22-year-old, who solely joined Benfica final summer season for round £10m, has signed an eight-and-a-half-year deal at Stamford Bridge to maintain him on the membership till the summer season of 2031.The Premier League’s report buysEnzo Fernandez – Benfica to Chelsea, January 2023 – £106.8mJack Grealish – Aston Villa to Manchester Metropolis, summer season 2021 – £100mRomelu Lukaku – Inter Milan to Chelsea, summer season 2021 – £97.5mRomelu Lukaku – Everton to Manchester United, summer season 2017 – £90mPaul Pogba – Juventus to Manchester United, summer season 2016 – £89mMykhailo Mudryk – Shakhtar Donetsk to Chelsea, January 2022 – £88.5mChelsea had been in talks to signal the World Cup winner all through January, however Benfica had refused to do enterprise except the Blues paid his €120m launch clause.However Chelsea agreed a deal of €121m at 9.15pm on Deadline Day after 12 hours of talks led by Chelsea’s co-owner Behdad Eghbali from London.The Blues pays a primary instalment of £30m with the remainder of the charge paid in 5 additional instalments.Fernandez was neglected of Benfica’s squad for his or her recreation towards Arouca on Tuesday evening, with the 22-year-old present process a medical in Portugal forward of his change to Stamford Bridge.In response to Portuguese broadcaster SIC, Fernandez will fly to the UK on Wednesday morning, with a personal jet scheduled to go away Lisbon airport at 10.20am.Fernandez will assist to switch Jorginho, who joined Chelsea’s London rivals Arsenal on Deadline Day in a £12m deal.Learn extra tales from Sky SportsSky Sports activities’ Ron Walker:”Fernandez’s attributes make it clear how he can assist. Nonetheless solely midway via his first season with Benfica, he has racked up the second-most assists within the Primeira Liga, and created 30 probabilities for his team-mates – a few of them significantly eye-catching, and a shocking pinpoint set-up for Goncalo Ramos towards Sporting earlier this month maybe the choose of the bunch.”It’s that form of playmaking potential which had Manchester Metropolis and Actual Madrid concerned about bringing him in from boyhood facet River Plate final summer season earlier than he settled on a transfer to Lisbon.”Nobody within the Portuguese high flight has made extra passes than the Argentine, and if he does show to switch Jorginho at Stamford Bridge, he can even present one thing additional within the closing third the place he tops the charts for passes too.”Ought to Chelsea wish to play with a midfield two, he would provide a greater choice there too. Fernandez has already taken accountability with out the ball at Benfica, slotting into an anchorman function commonly as required. He has been one of many league’s high tacklers, and solely 10 gamers throughout the division have gained the ball again extra within the center third regardless of his appreciable output additional up the pitch.”Learn the total function hereHow a lot did Chelsea spend in January?Following the arrival of Fernandez, Chelsea spent £323.3m in January. Listed below are the offers the Blues made:Benoit Badiashile – Monaco, £35mDavid Datro Fofana – Molde, undisclosed (reported £10m deal)Andrey Santos – Vasco da Gama, undisclosed (reported £18m deal)Joao Felix – Atletico Madrid, £9.7m loanMykhailo Mudryk – Shakhtar Donetsk, £88.5mNoni Madueke – PSV Eindhoven, £29mMalo Gusto – Lyon, £26.3mEnzo Fernandez – Benfica, £106.8mChelsea have splashed over £323m on this January switch window after finishing a British report deal for Benfica’s Enzo Fernandez – so how are they in a position to spend such large sums and keep inside Monetary Truthful Play guidelines?The UEFA FFP laws are designed to restrict extreme spending and there are additionally Premier League guidelines which put a cap on the losses a membership can endure over a three-year interval. Giant fines or factors deductions may be dished out as punishment to golf equipment which do not adhere to the foundations.However with the Blues agreeing a £106.8m switch for Fernandez, new Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly may have overseen a spend £600m for the reason that takeover in Could 2022 – and so they seem to have stayed throughout the pointers.Soccer finance professional Kieran Maguire spoke to Sky Sports activities Information to clarify.
Chelsea sign Enzo Fernandez in £106.8 million British-record transfer deal
