Chelsea make ‘last-minute swap proposal’ as Todd Boehly’s Enzo Fernandez fears emerge | Football | Sport

Fernandez has a release clause of £106m (€120m) but Chelsea cannot risk paying the entire fee up front due to Financial Fair Play regulations (FFP) and are hoping to structure the deal by paying more overall but in separate instalments – having reached a similar deal with RB Leipzig to sign Christopher Nkunku.

Boehly and Clearlake Capital have already invested over £300m in transfer fees since their £4.25bn takeover was ratified in May, but there is not an endless supply of funds at Stamford Bridge – especially with their £80m committed spending to sign Nkunku, David Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos.

Chelsea fans will be hoping Fernandez is the next player to arrive, but it remains to be seen whether Benfica will accept Chelsea’s staggered offer of payments for the highly-rated midfielder.