Chelsea ‘sped up pursuit of Enzo Fernandez amid fears SIX European rivals would try to sign him’

Chelsea were ‘rushed into their January signing of Enzo Fernandez amid fears he might join a European rival’.

The midfielder arrived in Stamford Bridge from Benfica for a British record £107 million, despite the Portuguese club’s best efforts to keep him until the summer.

Fernandez’s stock has gone through the roof since last year’s World Cup, where he was awarded the Young Player Award for his role in Argentina’s victory.

According to reports in the Telegraph, Graham Potter’s side paid the 22-year-old’s buy-out clause in late January out of fears that six European giants, including Manchester City and Real Madrid, ‘might beat them to his signature’.

Chelsea had initially refused to pay the full clause and planned to secure a lower fee in the summer, but changed their plan to ensure they landed the midfielder.

The Telegraph also revealed that Fernandez topped a list of nine potential signings for the Blues which also included Moises Caicedo, who attempted to force a move to Arsenal in January, Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice.

Borussia Dortmund are keen to hang on to Bellingham this summer but they may struggle amid interest from the likes of Real Madrid, Liverpool and Manchester City meaning even Chelsea are unlikely to land the 19-year-old.

Despite their high spending in the first January window since Todd Boehly’s takeover, Chelsea have continued to struggle this season and currently sit 10th in the league after losing to Southampton, who remain bottom despite the three points, on Saturday.

Fernandez has looked promising, but a number of new signings have struggled to gel and Potter’s men have one just once in ten games this year.

They performed well against Dortmund in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 clash last week but still lost 1-0 in Germany, meaning they will face an uphill task at Stamford Bridge next month.

With doubts emerging over Potter’s future at Chelsea, Sunday’s league clash with Tottenham could be a vital game in their season. 

While many have criticised the Chelsea boss, Rio Ferdinand jumped to his defence earlier this week, as he told  his Vibe with Five show: ‘I would go as far to say that Graham Potter has one of the hardest jobs in the league.

‘It is weird to say that, because he’s [been given] crazy amounts of talent. [But] he’s a new manager, he’s never dealt with players of that stature, and those egos, and having to manage that. 

‘So every week, just imagine this, he’s going in, yes he’s got great players at his disposal and they’re not a team, he’s got to formulate a team, and disappoint between 11 to 15 players.

‘All players think they should play, that is one of the hardest conversations. You speak to any manager, one of the hardest conversations for any manager is to tell a player you’re not playing this week. How do you pick those players back up again? It’s hard.’