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Real Madrid’s Enzo Fernandez stance offers Chelsea warning to seal €120m January transfer

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IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

Chelsea are against the clock in their hope of landing Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez this month.

Graham Potter‘s side are locked in talks with Benfica over a move for the 22-year-old, looking to strike a deal before Tuesday’s 11pm (UK) deadline.

Discussions have taken place over the course of the whole month, which has seen Chelsea reopen dialogue in the last week after initial discussions broke down.

Benfica are holding out for Fernandez’s €120 million release clause. Chelsea are reluctant to trigger clause that would mean they would have to pay the full fee upfront.

Fernandez would ‘prefer to leave’ Benfica this month and hopes president Rui Costa will accept Chelsea’s offer if they match the €120 million clause.

Talks have advanced, as reported by The Athletic, due to the involvement of intermediary Jorge Mendes and progress is hoped to be made on Monday.

Chelsea are on standby ready to fly out delegates to Portugal to thrash out a deal ahead of Benfica’s league match against Arouca on Tuesday night.

Whether or not Chelsea can secure a deal remains unclear, but they are under pressure to bring the World Cup winner to the English capital before tomorrow night due to interest from elsewhere.

Mario Cortegana reports that Real Madrid are interested in Fernandez, however are likely to wait until the summer if he is still available.

They are not interested in paying his ‘crazy’ €120 million asking price, handing Chelsea the perfect chance to wrap up a deal before Tuesday night.

Chelsea currently have no competition for Fernandez, and with their position of 10th in the Premier League, there is no better time to bring in one of the most-wanted midfielders in the world to the club.

Fernandez could be the difference if Chelsea want to secure Champions League football next season, and if he doesn’t arrive this month then their chances of bringing him to the club in the summer drastically decrease.

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