Chelsea are prepared to offer Benfica a whopping €100 million plus any player they'd like for midfield target Enzo Fernandez, according to reports.
The Blues rekindled their interest in Fernandez this month after seeing him win the World Cup with Argentina and be awarded Best Young Player out in Qatar.
Chelsea took their January spending past the £200 million mark earlier this week after confirming the arrival of Lyon full-back Malo Gusto.
He'll spend the rest of the campaign on loan at Lyon after manager Laurent Blanc received guarantees from the board that he'd see the season out in France.
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In addition to Gusto, Chelsea boss Graham Potter has added David Datro Fofana, Andrey Santos, Benoit Badiashile, Joao Felix, Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke to his squad.
A host of quality names arriving at Stamford Bridge to say the least. None of them are midfielders, however, a position Chelsea are lacking in.
N'Golo Kante has been out of action since August after undergoing hamstring surgery while Denis Zakaria is currently out with a knee issue.
Per South American journalist César Luis Merlo, Chelsea owner Todd Boehly is prepared to dip into his pockets one more time before Tuesday's transfer deadline.
It's claimed the Premier League outfit would be willing to part with a player of Benfica's choosing on top of their initial €100 million offer.
You have to assume there's a limit on that. We can't imagine Mudryk packing his bags and jetting off to Portugal, for example.
Chelsea are likely to sell several players in the summer as their squad continues to grow.
As well as the deadwood in the squad currently, a staggering 20 are out on loan. Among those are Malang Sarr, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Romelu Lukaku who were all used regularly last term.
Fernandez is interested in a move but won't disrespect Benfica to force the issue. In his first game back following the World Cup, the 22-year-old scored and passionately patted the club crest on his chest.
Benfica manager Roger Schmidt said: "I never doubted Enzo's attitude or personality, he is a great person and loves playing for Benfica. His return was very important and now he can focus again on just playing football. It was an excellent ending (the goal) to this game."
Chelsea return to action against Fulham on Friday evening.
Topics: Chelsea, Enzo Fernandez, Premier League
Daniel Marland