Chelsea splash £106.8m on Benfica’s midfielder

Chelsea were finally able to seal a move for Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for a British-record £106.8m.

The Blues’ deal for Fernandez exceeds the £100m Manchester City paid for Jack Grealish from Aston Villa 18 months ago.

Fernandez, who only arrived at Benfica last summer for around £10m, has penned an eight-and-a-half-year contract at Stamford Bridge to keep him at the club until the summer of 2031, according to Sky Sports.

Chelsea had been in talks with Benfica since the start of the January window, but they turned down the bid except the Blues paid his €120m release clause.

However, hours before the deadline, Chelsea agreed to a deal of €121m which they will pay a first instalment of £30m while the rest would be paid in five further instalments.

Fernandez on Tuesday night had his medical in Portugal ahead of his switch to Stamford Bridge.

He is expected to fly into the UK on Wednesday morning as he replaces Jorginho who moved to Arsenal.