Enzo Fernandez is reportedly open to leaving Chelsea just over a year after arriving at the club in a British transfer record deal.
Fernandez signed for Chelsea for a fee of £106.8m from Benfica in the 2023 January transfer window, having impressed during Argentina’s run to World Cup success in Qatar a month earlier.
The midfielder was named as the tournament’s Best Young Player in the Middle East and was the headline addition of Chelsea’s record-breaking winter spend.
However, the 23-year-old – who had signed for Benfica only six months earlier from River Plate – has had a mixed time at Stamford Bridge during a turbulent period for the West Londoners and is said to be considering an exit.
Football Transfers are reporting that Fernandez’s agent, Uriel Perez, has opened talks with various clubs in a bid to explore potential opportunities.
Chelsea’s midfield axis of Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, who eclipsed his teammate as Britain’s most expensive footballer when arriving from Brighton in the summer, has underwhelmed given the combined cost of £221m.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side are 11th in the Premier League table and have a negative goal difference following a 4-2 defeat at home to Wolves at the weekend.
Fernandez signed an eight-and-a-half year deal when arriving in the Premier League, before Chelsea, incredibly, activated a clause to extend that deal until 2032.