09 January 2023 , 16:17
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Benfica manager Roger Schmidt has declared that Chelsea's pursuit of Enzo Fernandez is "closed" after negotiations turned sour.
The Blues had been in talks over a mega £112million deal to sign the Argentine World Cup winner, but Graham Potter's side will now be forced to turn their attention to other targets in the January transfer window. After slamming Chelsea's attempts to unsettle Fernandez last week, Schmidt has all but confirmed that the 21-year-old midfielder will be staying in Lisbon until at least the summer.
"The issue with Enzo is closed, there is no issue anymore," the Benfica boss told a press conference on Monday. "He's our player, he's in a very good condition, he's training well, he's happy, so he's part of the squad and a key player. I think I've already said everything about him."
Schmidt's comments come just four days after Fernandez was left out of Benfica's squad to face Portimonense, a 1-0 win at their home of the Estadio da Luz. The Argentina international, who was crowned young player of the tournament at the World Cup, had played 89 minutes of their previous match, a bruising 3-0 defeat to Braga on the road.
The Liga Portugal leaders next travel to face third-tier side Varzim on Tuesday and Fernandez is expected to be back involved. The ex- River Plate prodigy's head had evidently been turned by Chelsea, who were willing go above his £106m release clause in order to win the race for his sought-after signature.
Chelsea complete record-breaking Enzo Fernandez transfer after deadline day rush
But the Blues' strategy angered Schmidt and the Benfica hierarchy, as owner Todd Boehly had reportedly agreed personal terms with Fernandez while the two clubs were still discussing a potential agreement. "There's a club who want our player. They know we don't want to sell the player," Schmidt stated last Thursday.
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Roger Schmidt is confident of keeping Enzo Fernandez at Benfica (ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP via Getty Images)"They try to get the player on their side and they know that they can only get this player when they pay the [release] clause. So it's a very clear situation, what the club is doing who wants to buy Enzo. It's disrespectful against all of us, against Benfica and I cannot accept what they are doing.
"So to make the player crazy and then pretend they can pay the clause and later they want to negotiate, I think it's not what I understand about a good relationship between clubs who maybe want to discuss a player. That's what I can say about the whole topic with Enzo and I will not answer further consequential questions."
The chaos surrounding Fernandez has also affected Chelsea, with Boehly recently now standing down as the Blues' interim sporting director, according to the Telegraph. Newly-appointed duo Christopher Vivell and Paul Winstanley will now lead the west London club's recruitment drive, and their first piece of business since Boehly stepped down looks to be signing Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid on a half-season loan, paying £9.68m for his services.