Chelsea have signed Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for £106.8million — smashing the British transfer record.
The Argentinian World Cup winner, the club’s eighth major arrival during the January sales, has been handed a deal until the summer of 2031 at Stamford Bridge.
With the Blues agreeing to pay his full release clause just before the transfer window slammed shut, the 22-year-old midfielder is now the most expensive player to ply his trade on British soil — eclipsing the £100m Manchester City paid for Jack Grealish in 2021.
Chelsea had pursued the star throughout January but a deal looked unlikely due to the Portuguese side’s reported demands over the structure of the deal.
Yet after rekindling their interest in recent days, the Blues made a late breakthrough to add Fernandez to Graham Potter’s bulging squad.
The River Plate academy graduate rose to prominence when helping Argentina lift their third World Cup in December, with his performances seeing him named the young player of the tournament in Qatar.
He follows the likes of Mykhailo Mudryk and Benoit Badiashile in joining Todd Boehly’s revolution in West London.
