Transfer Centre

Benfica boss Roger Schmidt hits out at alleged Chelsea Enzo Fernandez bid

By Darren Plant, Senior Reporter | 05 January 2023

Benfica boss Schmidt hits out at alleged Chelsea Fernandez bid

Benfica boss Roger Schmidt criticises a club, widely reported to be Chelsea, for the manner of their approach for midfielder Enzo Fernandez.

Benfica boss Roger Schmidt has described Chelsea's alleged behaviour in trying to secure a deal for midfielder Enzo Fernandez as "disrespectful".

Fernandez only joined Benfica during the summer, going on to make 18 starts for the Portuguese giants before representing Argentina at the World Cup.

The 21-year-old proceeded to help the South American nation to their first Jules Rimet trophy since 1986, his performances earning recognition in the form of the Young Player of the Tournament award.

Since then, it has been widely reported that Chelsea want to sign Fernandez, who possesses a £106m release clause, during the January transfer window.

Despite being aware of that figure, reports persist that Chelsea are against paying that fee in full in one payment, instead preferring to pay a marginally higher figure in three instalments.

Benfica's Enzo Fernandez pictured on August 5, 2022 © Reuters

However, over the past 24 hours, Benfica are said to have failed to reach an agreement with Chelsea over Fernandez, who has allegedly stated that he would like to move to the Premier League club.

With Chelsea also reportedly failing with a proposal which included three players, discussions are said to have stalled with no obvious resolution unless either party changes their stance.

When addressing the media ahead of Benfica's fixture with Portimonense on Friday, Schmidt was naturally pressed for an update on what is an evolving situation.

Rather than not commenting on a potential transfer, Schmidt instead took aim at an unnamed club, accusing them of tempting Fernandez into a transfer without being willing to meet Benfica's demands.

Chelsea owner and chairman Todd Boehly pictured in the stands on August 27, 2022 © Reuters

Speaking to reporters at a press conference, Schmidt said: "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."

Although Fernandez is said to want to move to West London, it has been consistently reported that Benfica will not sell for anything other than the release clause.

The former River Plate man still has four-and-a-half years remaining on his contract at Estadio da Luz.