Enzo Fernandez, the Argentine World Cup champion, has been officially sold by Benfica to Chelsea in a British record transaction of more than £100 million.
While Benfica stated that Fernandez was not for sale, Chelsea had identified him as a key target early in the transfer season and appeared to be out of luck.
However, in the last days of the transfer season, Chelsea’s management launched a new attempt to sign Fernandez and eventually secured their top target in a deal worth 121 million euros (£106.4 million).
Fernandez is now the most expensive acquisition in Premier League history, surpassing Jack Grealish’s £100 million switch from Aston Villa to Manchester City in the summer of 2021.
On Tuesday night, Chelsea had not yet made the transfer official, but Benfica had issued a statement confirming it.
Despite only joining Portuguese club Benfica last summer, Fernandez quickly became one of the most highly regarded players in the world by contributing to Argentina’s victory in Qatar.
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On the day of the transfer deadline, Fernandez had his medical in Portugal. He will now depart for London on Wednesday to meet up with his new teammates.