Enzo Fernandez
Enzo Fernandez

Benfica’s World Cup winning midfielder Enzo Fernandez sent a clear message to the club fans after scoring on his return against Varzim that he is here to stay. The 21-year-old has been subject to a move away from the Portuguese side after having a breakthrough World Cup campaign with Argentina in Qatar. Fernandez helped his country to the ultimate triumph as Argentina toppled France in the final, while also winning the Young Player of The tournament award.

It was imminent that the big poachers from across Europe would come for the youngster, who has a release cluse of €120m. The likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Real Madrid had all gathered at Fernandez’s doorsteps, with the midfielder himself wanting to jump any one of those ships. Chelsea even had agreed a move with him, and were ready to right away trigger his release clause as well. However, the move reportedly stands collapsed, as Enzo Fernandez now looks set to stay at Estadio da Luz.

Enzo Fernandez
Enzo Fernandez returned to action with Benfica after his potential move to Chelsea reportedly collapsed. Credits: Twitter

Enzo Fernandez signals he’s here to stay at Benfica

Enzo Fernandez was being left out Benfica’s matchday squads by manager Roger Schmidt after Chelsea had directly approached the player for a move. Moreover, the Blues had assured Benfica that they are ready to pay an outright amount of €120m for the midfielder, as they agreed personal terms on a five-year deal with the 21-year-old. However, Chelsea then pushed to negotiate the triple figure fee, which then irked the Portugal outfit.

Benfica rebuffed Chelsea’s re-negotiation and as things stand, Enzo Fernandez will continue until the end of the summer with the club. The midfielder was reintroduced in Benfica’s starting eleven for the Round of 16 of the Portuguese Cup against Varzim, as he went on to score as well and pointed to the fans through his celebration that he is staying at the club.

The Londoners reportedly wanted to pay a fixed fee in the region of €80m, whereas Benfica held out on their triple figure release clause. As a result, Fernandez further remained out of action for his current employers, as Schmidt slammed Chelsea last week:

“Enzo [Fernandez] is a good guy and an extraordinary player, we want him to stay, the situation is not easy, he played in the World Cup, won the World Cup, had proposals, there is a lot of money at stake. He is a young man player, this is confusing, we all understand this. But he is an excellent person. We do not want to sell him, neither I nor the president. We know that there is a release clause, if he wants to leave and someone violates the clause, maybe we lose the player.

“There is a club that wants him, they tried to attract him, but they know that they can only have him if they pay the clause. It’s disrespectful to all of us, to Benfica, they’re driving the player crazy, they pretend they want to pay the clause and then they want to negotiate.”

As it stands, Chelsea have cooled down their interest as well in the Argentine, and are exploring other options on the market. The midfielder himself now seems to have insisted through his celebration act that he won’t be leaving the club this month, and stay until the end of the season. It has been just six months since Benfica signed him from River Plate for a mere €14m, and are looking set to pocket a humongous fee on his sale, either now or in the summer.