"In the night..." - Romano drops major Fernandez update with "madness" claim

Fabrizio Romano has dropped a major update in the race for Enzo Fernandez as talks between Chelsea and Benfica intensified overnight.

The Blues have been pursuing the 22-year-old throughout January following his impressive performances at the World Cup in Qatar.

He was handed FIFA's Young Player of the Tournament award, and is seen as the perfect addition to Chelsea's midfield.

The West London club have splashed the cash this month, paying £89million for Mykhailo Mudryk, £35 million for Benoit Badashile, and £29 million for Noni Madueke.

However, they have their eyes on one more deal, with Todd Boehly keen to lure Fernandez to Stamford Bridge. Meanwhile, manager Graham Potter is said to 'fully back' the pursuit.

Benfica called off talks with Chelsea earlier this month due to the instalments in which the Blues wanted to pay for the player, and it was thought that they had missed their chance.

The Telegraph claimed earlier on Monday that the Blues had offered £105 million to sign the midfielder, with the current British record held by Jack Grealish's £100 million move from Aston Villa to Manchester City in 2021.

Talks continued throughout the night and journalist Fabrizio Romano has a fresh update for fans.

Romano labels Fernandez talks 'madness'

Transfer guru Romano tweeted: "It was again a tense night of talks as there’s still no green light from Benfica president Rui Costa to Chelsea €120m proposal.

"Chelsea wanted breakthrough in the night but nothing yet. Negotiations will continue in the morning.

"#DeadlineDay madness."

The Times journalist Duncan Castles, meanwhile, has claimed that Fernandez did not train with Benfica on Monday following reports of a new bid in an attempt to pressure the club into accepting Chelsea's offer.

Follow live updates of all the transfer deadline day madness on the SPORTbible blog.

Topics: Chelsea, Enzo Fernandez, Benfica, Fabrizio Romano, Premier League, Football, Transfers, Graham Potter, Todd Boehly

Joe Adams

Joe is a Journalist for SPORTbible with a primary focus on football. He has previously covered a number of other sports including boxing, rugby and F1. Wishes he was born left-footed.

@joeadamsjourno