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Chelsea are determined to sign a midfielder and a right-back this month, despite spending almost £500m on new players this season.
The Blues have signed 16 players since Todd Boehly’s consortium bought the club last summer, but remain keen to add to head coach Graham Potter’s squad during the January window.
Enzo Fernandez is still a target and Chelsea are considering making a fresh bid for the Benfica and Argentina midfielder.
Enzo Fernandez helped Argentina win the World Cup last month
The west London club tried to sign Fernandez earlier this month, but talks stalled after Benfica insisted he could only leave if his £106m release clause was paid.
Chelsea have tried to negotiate a lower fee and are keen to send players on loan to the Portuguese side as part of the deal.
Fernandez was desperate for a move to Chelsea at the start of January, but he returned to regular action for Benfica after a one-game suspension.
The 22-year-old will receive a big pay rise if he moves, but Benfica have been trying to get him to sign a new contract as they expect clubs such as Real Madrid and Barcelona to try to sign him in the summer.
Benfica boss Roger Schmidt criticized Chelsea’s behavior in their bid to sign Fernandez earlier this month, saying: “There are clubs who want him, they are trying to attract him, but they know they can only have him if they pay the clause.
“It disrespects us all, for Benfica. They drive the players crazy. They pretend they want to pay the clause and then they want to negotiate.”
With question marks over the long-term futures of Jorginho and N’Golo Kante – whose contracts expire at the end of the season – Chelsea are looking to sign at least one midfielder.
Even if Chelsea were able to pay Fernandez’s £106m release clause, doing so would affect their ability to comply with Premier League and UEFA financial fair play rules.
Along with Fernandez, his targets include Brighton’s Moises Caicedo, Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham and West Ham’s Declan Rice.
Declan Rice was at Chelsea until he was released at the age of 14
Liverpool are one of two other Premier League sides to have given up hope of signing Caicedo in January, although Brighton are under no pressure to sell the Ecuador international this month, as his contract expires in the summer of 2025.
Liverpool are also keen on Bellingham and have made him their top summer target, according to reports German skywho report that Dortmund are ready to offload the England international at the end of the season.
Rice spent time in Chelsea’s academy before being released at the age of 14, but quickly joined London rivals West Ham and has spent his entire professional career at the club.
As well as a new midfielder, Chelsea are also looking to bolster their defence, with the young right-back targeted to cover for Reece James.
The Blues are in talks with Lyon to Malo wantsbut the French side want to keep the 19-year-old until at least the summer.
However, Chelsea want a deal now as they understand other clubs – such as Manchester United and Tottenham – are interested in the France U21 international.
James has played just once for Chelsea since October 11 due to a knee injury, with his sole appearance – against Bournemouth last month – seeing him compound his problems and return to the sidelines.
The England international is also set to miss several months of the 2021/22 season with a hamstring injury.
Follow the January transfer window with Sky Sports
Who will move this season? The January transfer window is open Sunday January 1, 2023 and close it at 11 p.m at Tuesday, January 31, 2023.
Keep up to date with all the latest transfer news and gossip in our dedicated Transfer Center Blog at Sky Sports’ digital platform. You can also catch up with in, out and analysis Sky Sports News.
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