Chelsea’s new club-record signing Enzo Fernandez will reportedly start for the Blues on Friday against Fulham – providing Graham Potter’s side have his work permit signed by 4pm.

The Argentine international midfielder is now officially the most expensive player in the history of the Premier League and his top-flight bow could be imminent, just days after signing from Benfica in a blockbuster £107million deal.

Chelsea grafted for virtually the entire window to try and sign the 22-year-old maestro before eventually striking an agreement in the final hours before the deadline.

But once Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali agreed to pay the money Benfica desired, a deal was completed at rapid speed as Fernandez underwent his medical checks in Lisbon.

The big-spending Blues then welcomed Fernandez to London on Wednesday when he completed his club media work before being unveiled as the club’s new No 5.

According to Argentina national team reporter Gaston Edul of TyC Sports, Fernandez will start for Chelsea against Fulham on Friday evening – providing his work permit is signed before 4pm.

It’s understood Graham Potter is willing to thrust the ex-Benfica starlet straight into the starting XI for the visit of the Cottagers.

Gianfranco Zola believes that Arsenal’s new signing Jorginho is a perfect fit for the team.

The midfielder was signed from Chelsea in a £12million deadline day move.

The Chelsea legend told SunSport: “If you are a team that wants to be organised, a passing team, then Jorgo is the man.

“He is always in the right place supporting defenders and the other midfielders when they have the ball.

“He is always available when the ball is becoming hot. This is a player who never hides and you can rely on him all the time.

“A lot of players under pressure don’t want the ball but Jorgo is not one of them.

“When you have a player who does not hide when you need to control a game under pressure, you value him a lot. Maybe at times people don’t see this.”

Former Shakhtar Donetsk coach Andres Carrasco thinks that Mykhailo Mudryk would have been better off picking Arsenal over Chelsea due to the club’s style of play.

Speaking to UA Tribuna, Carrasco said: “This is a club (Chelsea) that has been changing recently.

“But it is good for Mudryk to be in a club that always expects maximum results. Now he needs to go through a period of adaptation.

“And only time will tell if it was the right decision for him or not.

“Today, Arsenal, with its style of play, could be more suitable for Mudryk, who successfully uses dribbling and plays one-on-one. It would be better for him, in my opinion.”

Benfica president Rui Costa has admitted he ‘won’t cry’ for Enzo Fernandez in a scathing account of the midfielder’s conduct during his deadline day move to Chelsea.

The 22-year-old joined the Blues for a British record £107 million after frantic negotiations that saw the deal completed just ‘two minutes’ before the deadline.

Despite Costa’s best efforts, he could not persuade Fernandez to stay with the Eagles until the end of the season, and has now recounted a bitter end to the Argentine star’s time in Portugal.

“Enzo Fernandez did not want to stay at Benfica. He didn’t give us any chance,’ the president said at a Bwin event this week.

“I did my best, I’m sad, but I’m not going to cry for a player who didn’t want to stay. When Chelsea arrived, it was really impossible to change his mind.’

Fernandez is believed to have wanted a move since the World Cup, and defied his club by flying back to Argentina to celebrate the New Year as he pushed for a move to England.

Benfica manager Roger Schmidt had claimed no deal would take place in mid-January, but Chelsea came back in for the midfielder after giving up in their pursuit of Brighton’s Moises Caicedo and deciding they would pay Fernandez’s full release clause.

Costa continued: “During deadline day we found an agreement to sell Enzo to Chelsea in the summer but he didn’t want to stay.

“From the moment Enzo realised [Chelsea would pay] the value of the clause it was unrelenting. We tried to insist, but the player did not show any openness to continuing at Benfica.

“I proposed to Chelsea that he stay until the summer for a lower value, but the player did not want to continue at Benfica – and this is when everything changed.’

Costa went on to explain how unwilling he was to keep an unmotivated player at Benfica, and showed little remorse for Fernandez’s exit.

“At that point I said, ‘He can’t play for Benfica anymore, no way,'” he said. “I don’t cry for players who don’t want to wear our shirt.

“I had the hope that Enzo would want to fight for the championship title with us. When I realised that he didn’t want to, I also didn’t want him to wear the Benfica shirt again.

“A player who even with the possibility of not losing a Euro and with a secure Chelsea contract, does not want to continue, could never stay at Benfica. This player could no longer enter the locker room.”

Photo Credit: ChelseaFC/Twitter

Chelsea tried and failed to sign Sofyan Amrabat on deadline day, according to reports.

That’s despite securing a British record deal for Enzo Fernandez.

According to the New York Times, Todd Boehly approached Italian club Fiorentina and asked about signing Amrabat, 26, on loan.

However, the Serie A side were said to be left unimpressed by his approach.

They are alleged to have not considered letting Amrabat leave on a temporary deal, but Boehly considered their asking price too excessive.

And talks between the two sides are claimed to have ended “abruptly”.

Arsenal are reportedly keeping tabs on Chelsea outcast Callum Hudson-Odoi with a potential move in the pipeline this summer.

Todd Boehly’s relentless transfer spree at Stamford Bridge is sure to see a wave of stars auctioned off at the end of the season, and Gunners sporting director Edu may be in a prime position to capitalise.

Hudson-Odoi was hot property after making his first-team debut with Chelsea as a 17-year-old. The technical winger racked up three England caps while still in his teens and the Blues handed him a bumper contract to fend off interest from Bayern Munich in 2020.

Just when supporters expected his progress to speed up, however, Hudson-Odoi’s exploits slowed down and he gradually became a peripheral figure at Stamford Bridge. So much so, in fact, that Boehly agreed to send him on loan to Bayer Leverkusen for the 2022/23 season.

The fact that Chelsea fought against the inclusion of a permanent buy option suggests that he could still have a future with the club, but the winter arrivals of Noni Madueke and Mykhaylo Mudryk could make his route into the Blues’ first team extremely difficult.

Arsenal are therefore keeping track of Hudson-Odoi’s situation in case an opportunity to pounce presents itself. The 22-year-old has notched one assist but is yet to score on loan in the Bundesliga this term.

Some Arsenal fans do have one reservation over the signing of new man Jorginho.

The Italian is not the quickest player in the Premier League, and a video that has emerged has shown referee Michael Oliver overtaking him in a sprint has caused concern.

One said on Twitter: “This is what scares me the most.”

Another tweeted: “Jorginho couldn’t outrun the referee! We’re doomed…”

Photo Credit: Arsenal/Twitter

Chelsea’s new boy Enzo Fernandez is on his way to London to put “his contract together”.

The midfielder was picture on a jet with César Luis Merlo.

The caption for the snap on Twitter is: “Enzo Fernández is rushing to London to sign his contract with Chelsea together with his agent Uriel Pérez.

“The Argentinian was bought from Benfica for €121M and his contract will be until June 2031.”

🚨Enzo Fernández ya está rumbo a Londres para firmar su contrato con el Chelsea junto a su agente Uriel Pérez.
*️⃣El argentino fue comprado al Benfica en €121M y su contrato será hasta junio de 2031. pic.twitter.com/NztdxtNBMF

— César Luis Merlo (@CLMerlo) February 1, 2023

Chelsea have finally reached an agreement with Benfica over the purchase of Enzo Fernandez for a British transfer record of £105m.

The clubs are now racing to get the relevant paperwork completed and submitted before the 11pm deadline.

Having initially offered to pay the £105m transfer fee in six instalments, the Premier League club have now agreed to Benfica’s demands to three payments over two years.

However, if they are to do as suggested, the Blues want to pay a lower initial fee up front.

Fabrizio Romano believes the deal will be completed before the deadline (and any official extension) while The Telegraph’s Matt Law understands that the transfer will be completed in the summer if necessary.

Arsenal are pushing towards completing a deal to sign Chelsea midfielder Jorginho.

According to The Athletic, the Premier League leaders have all-but accepted their pursuit of Moises Caicedo is over with the Gunners now focusing on the Italy international.

Chelsea have given Jorginho permission to speak to Arsenal over a move, reports suggest.

It is even being suggested that the Blues will want £15m with Arsenal looking to bring in a new midfielder before the day is out.

And the Evening Standard believe the Gunners will pay their London rivals £12m with the Italian signing a one-and-a-half year deal at the Emirates with an option for an extra year.