Chelsea have allegedly informed Benfica that they are prepared to pay £115m to sign midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
During the summer transfer window, the Portuguese giants won the race to sign the player from River Plate, committing to a deal worth €18m.
Since then, Fernandez has developed into one of the most sought-after young stars in world football, helped by his performances for Argentina at the World Cup.
The 21-year-old made five starts and two substitute outings to help his nation win their first Jules Rimet trophy since 1986, while he also collected the Young Player Of The Tournament accolade.
With that achievement coming on the back of impressing in his 18 starts for Benfica, a number of top European clubs are now said to be willing to negotiate one of the most expensive deals in history in order to secure his signature.
In recent weeks, it has been widely reported that Fernandez possesses a release clause of £105m, Benfica remaining hopeful that it will ward off his admirers until at least the summer.
However, Newcastle United, Liverpool and Real Madrid are all said to be monitoring the situation, toying with making a formal proposal next month.
Nevertheless, according to Record, Chelsea are willing to pay over Fernandez's release clause in order to ensure that they win the race for his services.
While the Blues are well stocked for options in the centre of the pitch, that seems likely to change in 2023 with three of the current players in line to depart Stamford Bridge.
Jorginho and N'Golo Kante are out of contract at the end of the season, while Juventus loanee Denis Zakaria is yet to convince Graham Potter that a big-money option should be activated to sign the Switzerland international on a permanent basis.
Chelsea officials are reportedly eager to reduce the average age of the squad, something which would be helped if players the wrong side of 30 such as Jorginho and Kante were allowed to leave at the end of June.
Recently, it was claimed that Liverpool were ready to step up their pursuit of Fernandez, who is said to be open to making a switch to Anfield.
While Manchester United have also been linked with Fernandez, their priority is currently finding a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo in the final third. body check tags ::
