Chelsea rush to complete mega deal in January as UEFA set to close loophole

Chelsea have reignited talks with Benfica over a deal for Enzo Fernandez. Chelsea have been chasing the Argentine’s signature since the start of the winter transfer window. At the start, negotiations were taking place between CFC and Benfica, with the London club even ready to pay the release clause sum in installments.

CFC reached a verbal agreement with the 21 year old but still couldn’t agree the structure of the fee with Benfica. The Portuguese pulled out of the negotiations as they wanted the release clause to be paid up front and not in parts.

Benfica manager Roger Schmidt blasted Chelsea for approaching Fernandez and agreeing personal terms before reaching an agreement with Benfica. He ruled out a transfer and affirmed that Fernandez will be staying at Benfica in January.

Since then, the Fernandez links died down for a while as Chelsea explored alternatives in Moises Caicedo and Amadou Onana. Caicedo is now strongly being linked to Arsenal and Onana has rejected a proposal to join the Blues. Back to the drawing board, CFC decided to make another push for Fernandez towards the end of the transfer window.

Chelsea were willing to wait until summer for Enzo Fernandez

Chelsea’s spending since Todd Boehly’s takeover has now been over £450 million and given such high spending, it was natural to attract scrutiny from financial analysts around the world. It is extremely difficult to stay within the Financial Fair Play limits and spend such an astronomical amount over the course of two transfer windows.

However, Chelsea found a loophole in the UEFA’s system which allowed them to spend big in the transfer market and stand little risk of violating the FFP rules. Stars like Benoit Badiashile, Mykhailo Mydruk and Noni Madueke have been signed on long term deals, through which their cost has been amortized.

Mduryk signed a deal until 2031, meaning his £88.5 million transfer fee will be spread over eight years. Similarly, Madueke and Badiashile have signed a deal until 2030. Through amortization, Chelsea can reduce their yearly spending on the books as transfer fees will be spread over the course of whole contract.

UEFA recognized this loophole and are set to change it and limit the contract length to five years. According to The Times, CFC were prepared to wait until the summer for Fernandez. His £106 million fee would have been spread over the course of his long term contract, even though the Blues would be making the payment to Benfica upfront. However, CFC will now rush to complete the deal before the end of the January transfer window as UEFA are set to close the loophole.

Moving in January will also help Chelsea avoid a tussle in the summer as clubs like Real Madrid and Liverpool are waiting for the summer to target midfielders. Benfica’s stance is still clear they’ll take the release clause or nothing.

Will CFC succeed in the pursuit of Enzo Fernandez?