Report: Why Benfica want Chelsea target Enzo Fernadnez’s release clause to be met

The reason behind Benfica’s urge to get the release clause of Enzo Fernandez paid

According to Football.London, the reason why Benfica are demanding that the release clause of Chelsea target Enzo Fernandez has been revealed.

The Argentina international, who was part of the World Cup-winning side and became the best young player of the tournament, arrived at Benfica in the preceding summer window itself.

The Portuguese side are demanding that the whole of the player’s £106m release clause is paid because his previous club River Plate are due 25% of the fee that will be paid.

Chelsea have been strongly linked with the midfielder. A few days ago, Ben Jacobs of CBS Sports reported that the Blues have entered direct talks to sign the player, but they are willing to pay over the release clause to make sure that the payment terms are on their side.

It is a testament to how good Fernandez has been in the last few months that even though he joined Benfica in the summer itself, top clubs are vying for his signature in January and are willing to pay over the odds as well.

The 21-year-old is a midfield player who can operate in multiple positions across the central regions of the field. He is a pass master, can dictate the tempo of the game, is great at reading the game defensively and does not shirk away from physical duels. There is a reason why he was a star in the World Cup.

Chelsea could do with a player like him in their central midfield department. He can do it all in the midfield, something we were accustomed to N’Golo Kante doing in the last few years.

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Kante has had injury issues in the past year or so, a recent one keeping him out since August with no fixed return date. Moreover, the Frenchman is 31 now, hence, won’t go on forever. So, Fernandez could be an ideal successor to Kante for the coming decade.