The footballer who emerged from River Plate has become, with his signing, the most expensive Argentine footballer in history and, the 121 million euros that Benfica received, achieved it in the most expensive transfer in the history of the Premier League.
It seems like a long time ago, but until last year, I was wearing the millionaire’s shirt: There were 53 games with 12 goals and 9 assists. He also won two titles, the 2021 Professional League and the Champions Trophy. Then he went to Europe, as soon as the team led by Marcelo Gallardo was eliminated from the 2022 Copa Libertadores.
On August 2, he made his Benfica debut in a UEFA Champions League third round qualifying match against FC Midtjylland. One hundred thirty-eight days later he was a World Champion with Argentina and named the best young player in Qatar 2022. His life changed radically.
“I am very grateful to Chelsea and its owners, for doing everything possible for me to be part of this project. I’m happy and excited to join the team.’” He said as soon as he was presented in England. His contract will run until June 2031.
what did they see Blues to pay the multi-million dollar termination clause with the Portuguese club?
The greatest virtue of Enzo Fernández is his versatility. Some coaches highlight his level and precision in passing, others appreciate that in addition to playing well he has a lot and there are also those who recognize him for his ability to go from the area to being a gravitatant in the game.
When analyzing the data, complementary records rarely seen in the same midfielder are observed: numbers that exceed the average of the world elite both in offense and when defending. Let’s see examples.
In Portugal, he maintained an average value of 96.4 successful passes per game. A value of 20 passes above any other Primeira Liga midfielder with more than 800 minutes played in the season. Next up is Florentino with 76.3. To contextualize how atypical the result is, in the five main European leagues since 2018-19, the only footballer with more than 1,000 minutes played and with an average number of passes per game of more than 90 minutes in a season has been Marco Verratti from Paris Saint -Germain: 97.7 in 2020-21 and 96.6 in 2022-23. It can be a loose piece of information and in a league below the top, but it must be linked with the rest.
In the group stage of the UEFA Champions League they also stood out but in a different role, given the unexpectedness of seeing a midfielder with his technical quality being so aggressive and astute in scoring. An example was the match with Juventus in Turin, which Benfica won as a visitor, and where he was the player with the most completed passes (71), with the most recoveries (7) and with the most fouls committed (4). Becoming the figure of the party.
Just as he highlighted his presence in clubs, the same thing happened with the Argentine National Team. Another example is the World Cup final against France, Fernández was part of a midfield of three (with Rodrigo de Paul and Alexis Mac Allister) and completed the game with the most touches (118), the most passes completed (91), the most recoveries (10) and was second in accurate long passes (5).
And that same thing already began to show in England. In his debut, in a goalless draw against Fulham (in the West London classic), he made more cuts (3) and won more duels (4) in the first 15 minutes than any other player on the pitch. What is said, he started on the right foot.
Now comes the great challenge of the season for them bluesfor which they brought it, they start the round of 16 of the Champions League and face Borussia Dortmund. Sit back and enjoy one of the best midfielders in the world right now and he’s barely 21 years old. A tempting prospect.
