Chelsea close to breaking transfer record but they must be smart about it

Chelsea risk breaking Financial Fair Play rules but they desperately want their man.

Chelsea are no strangers to splashing the cash in the transfer window, particularly under Roman Abramovich. Having spent a hefty £273m in the summer, the Blues are not in the best position to show for it. They currently sit 9th in the Premier League table, with their Champions League aspirations next season looking like a miracle at the moment.

However, their method of dealing with this appears to be spend more money. With the January transfer opening recently, the London club is actively seeking new additions.

According to a new report from Standard, Chelsea are closing in on a deal for Enzo Fernandez. The 21-year-old Benfica midfielder is fresh off winning the World Cup with Argentina, to whom he was a key player. The deal is set to Chelsea back around £112m, which will be a club-record deal.

As Chelsea have spent a large sum of money in a short amount of time, they are one of the four Premier League clubs on UEFA’s financial fair play watch-list – according to Evening Standard. The report also claims that to stay in the good books, Chelsea are aiming to pay the deal in three instalments of £37.5m.

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There are currently some disciplinary issues ongoing with Fernandez, as he has been missing training without permission to celebrate the World Cup win. This will work in Chelsea’s favour, however, they must be weary that this behaviour could easily be repeated at Stamford Bridge.

It will be the case with any Chelsea signing from this point on but this signing must seriously be considered. They cannot simply panic buy, especially as the club is already under a close watching eye of Financial Fair Play. To be completely frank, the signings they made in summer were completely pointless.

However, no one can deny the talent of Enzo Fernandez. He was one of the stars of the World Cup and has put in regular stunning performances as a defensive midfielder for Benfica this season.