Chelsea have completed a UK record €121m (£107m) deal for Benfica’s Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
The deal tops the £100m Manchester City paid for Jack Grealish in 2021.
“Benfica” announced that it “reached an agreement with FC “Chelsea” on the sale of all rights to the player Enzo Fernandez.”
Fernandez, who joined Benfica for just £10million in August, was named Young Player of the Tournament during Argentina’s World Cup triumph in Qatar.
The 22-year-old’s arrival took Chelsea’s January spending to £288m, according to transfer website Transfermarkt.
It follows a summer spending spree of around £270m – a record for a British club in the summer window – which took their total spending under new American owner Todd Boley to more than £550m on 17 new players.
Fernandez’s signing is the sixth most expensive of all time, equaling the €120 million Barcelona paid for France forward Antoine Griezmann in 2019.
Fernandez, who joined Benfica from Argentine side River Plate, scored four goals in 29 appearances for the Premier League side.
He scored one goal during the World Cup, scoring Argentina’s second goal in their 2-0 group stage victory over Mexico.
Crucial to Argentina’s World Cup win – analysis
“Chelsea’s current spending is eye-wateringly staggering,” said BBC Radio 5 Live’s senior football reporter Ian Dennis.
“What a great piece of business from Benfica who held their nerve as Chelsea chased him throughout the window. A little skill, and they reaped their rewards.’
European football expert Guillaume Balague added: “He didn’t start at the World Cup, but he was absolutely crucial to Argentina’s victory. It depends on his reading of the game.
“You look at what he did in the World Cup and you think ‘really? Is it 121 million euros?” but the answer is no – you haven’t seen the whole picture. He is much more than that.
“He can play anywhere in midfield. He can be a defensive midfielder, right, left, the statistics show that he increases the quality on the move, he gives the last pass and the penultimate pass – and he also scored.
“It’s not easy to find a player who, when the game gets really high intensity, still plays good football.”
The highest transfer fees in the world
Neymar [Барселона – Парі Сен-Жермен] 200 million pounds in 2017
Kylian Mbappe (Monaco – Paris Saint-Germain) £166m in 2017
Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool – Barcelona) £142m in 2018
Ousmane Dembele (Borussia Dortmund – Barcelona) was £135m in 2017.
Joao Felix (Benfica – Atletico Madrid) £113m in 2019
Antoine Griezmann (Atletico to Barcelona) £107m in 2019
Enzo Fernandez [Бенфіка — Челсі] 107 million pounds in 2023
