Chelsea FC Reportedly Agree To World Record Transfer Fee For Argentina World Cup Superstar Enzo Fernandez

Chelsea FC is done messing around.

The prestigious English Premier League side has struggled this season in its first year under new American owner Todd Boehly.

The Blues currently sit 10th in the Premier League table. They’ve dealt with a remarkable number of injuries. They fired manager Thomas Tuchel before the mid-way point of the season, and they’ve already been knocked out of both domestic cup competitions.

But Boehly and company aren’t sitting idly by.

Instead, Chelsea have gone on a shopping spree. The club spent over £250M in the summer on new players and look like it could well eclipse that in the January transfer winner.

Chelsea moved quickly to sign young striker Davide Datro Fofana and center back Benoit Badiashile when the January transfer window opened. But he wasn’t done there.

They continued the spree by acquiring rising Ukranian star Mykhalio Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk in a move worth in the area of £100M. Boehly and co. followed that up by adding young English winger Noni Madueke from Dutch club PSV Eindhoven. And only yesterday did they seal the signature of 19-year-old French right back Malo Gusto from Olympique Lyonnais.

The moves are all part of Boehly’s “vision 2030.”

The Los Angeles Dodgers owner plans to acquire the world’s best young talent in hopes of building a sustainable future down the line. He took perhaps the biggest step yet toward executing that plan on Monday.

Chelsea Reportedly Agree To World Record Fee For Argentine Star Enzo Fernandez

Enzo Fernandez put himself on the map at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The 21-year-old Argentine midfielder was outstanding as the La Albieceleste won their first world cup since 1986.

FIFA named him the tournament’s best young player. And, as you’d expect, all of the world’s top club teams began to push to acquire him from Portuguese side SL Benfica.

Chelsea were the first. But there was a problem. Fernandez’s contract with Benfica includes a buyout clause of €130M and the club refused to budge.

While Chelsea can afford the move, the structure of a buyout would mean they would need to include the entire fee on their books at once. That puts them as risk of violating FIFA’s Financial Fair Play laws.

It also appeared to end any hopes of a move happening in January. But with the deadline fast approaching, it appears Chelsea pulled a rabbit out of its hat.

English transfer journalist Duncan Castles reports that the two clubs are set to agree to a world-record fee for Fernandez. Chelsea will reportedly pay more than the €120M buyout, but instead will pay in installments.

Fans were floored by the move.

https://twitter.com/3SKEP/status/1620111492900343808?s=20&t=6HCN-paQOxF5QsapEWRYvA

It’s likely too late for Chelsea to rebound in the 2022-23 season. But it’s abundantly clear that Boehly and the Blues mean business going forward.