Benfica boss Roger Schmidt declares Chelsea’s pursuit of Enzo Fernandez ‘CLOSED’ in another blow to Graham Potter after the Blues desperately tried to land the Argentine World Cup-winning wonderkid and were willing to pay £112m
- Roger Schmidt claimed Enzo Fernandez would not be leaving Benfica this month
- Chelsea were strong suitors and offered £112million for him in three instalments
- The Lisbon-based outfit insisted the Blues triggered his £106m release clause
- Fernandez was named World Cup Young Player of the Tournament in December
- READ: Chelsea step up talks for Borussia Monchengladbach’s Marcus Thuram
Benfica’s Roger Schmidt appears to have declared Chelsea’s pursuit of wonderkid Enzo Fernandez as over in a recent press conference.
The German manager revealed that the Argentinian World Cup-winning sensation was ‘one of our players’ after a long, drawn-out pursuit from Graham Potter’s Premier League side.
The Lisbon-based club only signed Fernandez from River Plate for £10million, and looked a staggering £112m switch to west London after he was left out of a recent Benfica game, which Schmidt claimed was due to disciplinary reasons.
Roger Schmidt has claimed that Enzo Fernandez’s proposed move to Benfica is now ‘closed’
Since winning the World Cup’s Young Player of the Tournament award due to his dazzling displays for the newly-crown World champions, Fernandez has been the subject of major interest from numerous clubs.
But Chelsea had looked the closest to landing his signature – less than a year after his move to Europe from Argentinian outfit River Plate – before the deal reportedly broke down over the final fee.
‘I already said that, this question is closed,’ Schmidt revealed ahead of his side’s round of 16 clash with Varzim in the Taca de Portugal (Portuguese Cup).
Schmidt claimed that Fernandez was ‘one of our players’ and that he would stay at the club
‘He’s one of our players. He’s happy, training well, he’s part of the team. That’s all said.’
Chelsea were strong suitors to land the Argentina wonderkind
The Blues had been interested in bringing the youngster to Stamford Bridge in this window in an attempt to beat other interested parties to the punch ahead of the summer transfer window.