HOW ENZO FERNANDEZ FITS IN AT CHELSEA! | Deadline Day

Welcome back to Deadline Day everybody and the Ornstein bomb has been dropped. Enzo Fernandez has been granted permission to undertake a medical with Chelsea. He'll be undertaking that medical in Lisbon. It looks like this move is finally going to happen but it isn't going to be cheap is it Michael? No, I think everyone watching this will know that by now to be honest. You know this price tag, this release clause has been you know very well known for a while now. 120 million euros possibly. Some other reports also saying 130 million over the last few weeks. So either way it would be a British transfer record that would usurp the Jack Grealish 100 million pound deal to Man City. This would come in at 105 million pounds after exchange and that would take Chelsea's spending this season to 610 million euros and 500,000 as well. It's pretty crazy. So yeah, the money surrounding Chelsea transfers this year has been pretty mad in general hasn't it? We already saw that Modric deal you know huge overpayment on him but at the same time you know Enzo Fernandez is one of the star boys of world football at this moment in time in terms of European clubs or mainland European clubs selling to Premier League clubs. It's not even that shocking anymore is it? Let's face it. I know he only moved to Benfica from River Plate last year for just 10 million plus add-ons but he is already valued at 55 million by transfer marks. Benfica are having a huge season aren't they? They've got Klub Brugge in the Champions League last 16 in a tie that they expect to win so they've got a potential Champions League quarterfinal. They're also in the quarterfinals against Braga in the Cup. So they're fighting on three fronts plus you know there's that World Cup tax isn't there? Won the World Cup with Argentina, was one of the best players at the tournament, won that award and Benfica are known for selling at high prices aren't they? You know Nunez for 80 million euros to Liverpool last summer, Joao Felix of course for 127 million euros which might not even be topped by this and that was back in 2019 as well. But at the same time he's only made 17 appearances for Benfica this term so once again you know it is Chelsea under Todd Burley you know really banking a lot on one player to be the future of this midfield and it is a potentially exciting future because Enzo Fernandes does look like a star in the making. He's got six assists from the base of midfield for Benfica this term. I know he's playing in a very ball head dominant side but he's creating around two chances per game. You know he's also making you know doing a lot of defensive work 3.6 tackles and interceptions at a side that is keeping more possession than even Man City this term and I think you know if you take the money out out of it for a second I know it's significant but the fact that they're getting a decent fee for Jorginho who's got you know six months left on his deal and getting in someone who I think in almost every single area is a significant upgrade on Jorginho I think it's only good news for the future of that midfield. Yeah I mean the money is one thing but the player is another I suppose isn't it? Yeah so I'll pick up where McCubbin left off and we can talk about the composition of Benfica's midfield where he's played this season and how he's played to give the guys at home a clear indication of where he might slot into this Chelsea side because that is a pretty interesting scenario as it is I mean he's played in a double pivot this season with Florentino Luiz for Benfica and their dynamic pretty interesting. Luiz does the majority of the defending, Enzo does the majority of the ball progression and they do interchange but there's a definite emphasis I would say on joining the attack when it comes to Enzo Fernandez. For example he's averaging almost 100 passes per 90 this season in the league of Nosh so clearly important to build up but completing almost 10 progressive passes per 90 which is almost double Jorginho's Premier League output this season so a lot of forward thrust to his game which he demonstrated at the World Cup as well has the physicality to partake in multiple phases of play which is not something we can say for a lot of Chelsea's midfield it must be said. Like McCubbin said been a creative tour de force this season despite picking the ball up from deep an awful lot. Five assists in league play as joint first in the squad with Alex Grimaldo also chipping in with two shots per 90 we're flagging that the majority of them do come from outside the box so likes a speculative long-range pile driver which I imagine Potter will probably coach out of him but Jorginho currently chipping in with 0.3 shots per 90 and I know it's not necessarily tick for tack obviously I'm weighing them against one another because one player is coming in one player is going out but I would say perhaps not as defensively secure as Jorginho you know Jorginho is an underrated reader of the game which you can see in the amount of interceptions he's historically clocked up but yeah is just physically so much more capable it'd be silly to think he doesn't make a significant impact straight away I think in that Chelsea midfield but one thing I wanted to ask you guys was I mean if Kante is fit and we're led to believe he's coming back into the fold yeah a huge if with him these days but if he is he goes back into the side doesn't he as one of their world-class components Chelsea haven't really had a set formation this season but if they do move to that 4-3-3 who do you think misses out you know across that starting 11? I think Enzo's definitely got to start 105 when he has to start I think in an ideal world it will be Kovacic alongside him because I don't quite similar as players I just don't think Kante is going to be fit if Kante was fit and every everything went perfectly then you would see a Kante and Enzo central midfield pairing I just don't think you're going to see enough across the course of the second half of the season I also don't think you should discount Zachariah who was actually playing really really well prior to the against Fulham and looked like he'd worked his way back into favour under Graham Potter after being this sort of forgotten man at the start of the season and I have to say I think Mason Mount might be in a little bit of a trouble here he's not had his best season they've brought in some really exciting young players in this window from the average age of transfers into the side in the January window is just 20 and with Joao Felix wanting to play in that sort of role Mudrick playing off the left potentially as well Havertz is going to want to play in there too I think Mason Mount is could suffer at the hands of Enzo Fernandez and you know what I don't think he's been good enough to demand a starting place that midfield this season if it was Mason Mount of last season 18 months ago I would say yes but I think Mason Mount's minutes might suffer under Enzo Fernandez arrival yeah I mean I think even Mudrick's arrival signaled you know potentially the end of Mason Mount as in the left you know on the left of that three-pronged attack so I do think he needs to step up but equally you could imagine maybe a midfield three of Enzo at the base Kovacic on the right and maybe Mount's just brought back into a midfield three rather than in the attack so I think it gives Graham Potter a lot of options that you know that goes without saying but also you know a player like Carney Chukwemaker who I think has has looked quite you know interesting you know in limited minutes so far this season you know clearly a huge talent as well you know it would be a shame if this were to see him suffer in that sense because I think you know he is a player who I think also represents the future of Chelsea yeah absolutely I mean there's so many young players arriving at this club you'd have to say Enzo Fernandez the one thing I will say about this is that whether they sign him now or whether they signed him in the summer I think he would still have cost 120 million euros I don't think if they'd have come to the summer they'd have suddenly gone do you know what we'll accept less than that release clause he's on a five-year contract and I think they would have had just as much if not more competition in the summer from the likes of Man City potentially Real Madrid potentially Liverpool but to get him now they can still use the amortization process because that hasn't been brought into effect yet by FIFA has it either you know it's not I think it is smart business I know it's a massive open payment but I think it is smart yes but I think we were all surprised at Newcastle's winningness allegedly to put up a 45 million pound bid for Conor Gallagher all of a sudden if you're paying 50 million pounds and Conor Gallagher effectively to bring in Enzo Fernandez it starts to look a lot more reasonable doesn't it Mason Mount that's the interesting one right because contract talks have broke down there has been murmurs that Liverpool have been monitoring the situation which would be an awesome sort of like last hour scenario if they all of a sudden entered the fray looking to add a bit of physicality to their midfield but yeah I think we're going to see big players ride the bench at Chelsea this season and there's going to be some movers and shakers in the summer but it puts pressure on Potter they're all on good they're all on good money aren't they apart from Mount and Gallagher they're probably the the the chess pieces they can move fairly quickly without a great amount of effort of course Ziek might be going to PSG as well yeah I don't know if that uh the current status of that situation um but apart from that yeah there's there's people on big money they're going to be difficult to move yeah I think it puts big pressure on Potter to perform as well because he's got so many star players and young players that want game time need minutes that he has to somehow find a balance the juggler playing people but then not leaving people on the bench but then also find a momentum and form because it can't be a write-off season they can't spend 600 million pounds across two windows and say we're happy to finish seventh that cannot happen it has to be a concerted effort to get into this top four it's not beyond them I think they're what 10 points off with the game in hand something like that in that sort of region they have to be pushing for the top four and that as well as the minutes for young players makes Potter's job incredibly difficult I do think they'll factor that into their expectations and clearly it's not I don't think this is akin to when Lampard was entrusted with 225 billion and it was it was almost like okay prove to us that you can go to the next level as a manager if we give you next level players this is clearly a longer term play and I'm sure that there'll be a buffer they'll give them some bandwidth because of the human factor here like that is going to be that that dressing room feels like it could be on the cusp of implosion if players aren't moved on right because as you flagged there's going to be some unhappy souls that's down the bridge absolutely but what do you guys at home think of the Enzo Fernandez deal expected that that is going to happen over the next few hours let us know your thoughts in the comments below if you enjoyed this video hit the like button make sure you stay tuned this evening as well because we've got loads more content coming your way including an end of deadline day live stream so keep your eyes peeled for that thanks very much for watching we'll see you later bye