Enzo Fernandez is set to be Chelsea’s priority for the end of the transfer window as the Blues look to add to the seven signatures they have already secured this month
We’ve entered the final 48 hours of the transfer window and the footballing world are still on tenterhooks for the business that could still be completed. Unsurprisingly Chelsea could be at the centre of a great deal of that action, despite having already spent more than £200million this month.
The Blues have signed seven players with all but Malo Gusto added to Chelsea’s ranks immediately, but despite it being a more precarious period of transfer action the club have added talent for the future in Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, David Datro Fofana, Benoit Badiashile and Andrey Santos. Some of those players will have an immediate impact but all are 22 or younger.
The balance between providing for now and the future has been present in all of Chelsea’s business since the summer. Enzo Fernandez may embody that more than most.
Chelsea were given a shrift response by Benfica earlier in the month when they refused to meet the World Cup winner’s release clause. Their manager Roger Schmidt made the position clear to the media.
He explained: “We do not want to sell him, neither I nor the president. We know that there is a release clause and if he wants to leave and someone pays that clause, then maybe we lose the player
“There is a club that wants him, they tried to attract him, but they know that they can only have him if they pay the clause. It’s disrespectful to all of us, to Benfica, they’re driving the player crazy, they pretend they want to pay the clause and then they want to negotiate. About Enzo, this is all I’m going to say and I’m not going to answer any more questions about it.”
In many respects, Chelsea know what they need to do to land the midfielder, though they will likely continue to attempt to find more favourable terms, as they are entitled to do. If Christopher Vivell and Paul Winstanley are able to land the midfielder, they will have avoided the competition that will emerge in the summer.
It’s a move that is necessary to provide the team a profile Chelsea lack, while ensuring a stronger positions in negotiations with Jorginho and N’Golo Kante as well as guarding the Blues from scrambling for a midfielder in the event they do not qualify for the Champions League.
Chelsea are unafraid to work within the final days of the transfer window. They attempted to land Edson Alvarez late in the summer and were only prevented from doing business due to Ajax’s reluctance, while they added Denis Zakaria in response, as well as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Seven players departed on loan on deadline day while Billy Gilmour headed to Brighton and Xavier Mbuyamba and Kenedy also departed.
Quite simply, it feels like there’s more to come. The likes of Mason Burstow, Cesare Casadei and Omari Hutchinson are all contenders to temporarily depart, while Xavier Simons could yet return from Hull to make another move or make his stay there permanent.
Chelsea may be best-placed to find a buyer for Hakim Ziyech who wanted to depart the club in the summer, with the Blues’ squad beginning to look bloated when everyone is fit. In addition, speculation will likely continue around the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Conor Gallagher, though the former is believed to be content at Stamford Bridge while the latter’s ambitions simply revolves around continuing to earn minutes with Graham Potter already having blocked a move with Newcastle and Crystal Palace lurking.
Source: .football.london
