Enzo Fernandez’s strong desire to join Chelsea was a huge factor in the mega-money deal going through on deadline day, Fabrizio Romano has claimed.
What’s the word?
Chelsea struck a British-record transfer deal in the final hours of the window to sign World Cup winner Fernandez from Benfica, taking their winter spending close to £300m.
For a while, it seemed that a deal would not happen, with intense negotiations taking place throughout the month, but they eventually managed to break the deadlock and secure the deal.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano revealed that the player’s desperation to join Chelsea in the Premier League was an important factor in getting the transfer over the line.
He said: “The player has been crucial. Enzo Fernandez has been really important for this move, because we know that in the first week of January when everything started between Chelsea and Benfica for Enzo Fernandez, the player was pushing and was pushing very hard, he didn’t go to training, so the player was really insisting on the move.
“But then in the final days of January, after that negotiation collapsed in the beginning of January, and then it restarted in the final days of the window.
“What happened is that Enzo, in a very professional way, was praying [to] Rui Costa, the Benfica president, to accept the proposal and to go to Chelsea. Enzo was really insisting; Enzo had this dream of the Premier League, and Enzo wanted [the] Chelsea move.
“It was crucial, because Rui Costa, the president of Benfica, had no intention to accept until a few minutes before the end of the transfer window.”
A long-term option
Midfielder Jorginho departed for rivals Arsenal on the same day as the arrival of Fernandez, and he is surely seen as the natural successor to the Italian, and can be their midfield stalwart for years to come.
The 22-year-old was sensational as Argentina won the World Cup in Qatar, winning the Young Player of the Tournament award and even earned praise from Lionel Messi, who called him a “spectacular player”.
If he settles well at Chelsea, then they will have a major asset on their hands in the middle of the park.
And it speaks volumes about the way Chelsea are viewed globally, as despite languishing in mid-table, Fernandez seemed desperate to come to Stamford Bridge – and if this was not the case, the World Cup winner could well have been stuck in Portugal for the time being.
