Benfica manager Roger Schmidt has accused Chelsea of being ‘disrespectful’ in their attempts to sign Enzo Fernandez.
Fernandez joined Benfica in the summer and made 18 starts for the Portuguese giants before representing Argentina in the World Cup.
The 21-year-old went on to help South America win its first Jules Rimet trophy since 1986, his efforts earning him the Young Player of the Tournament award.
Since then, it has been widely reported that Chelsea would like to sign Fernandez, who has a £106m release clause, during the January transfer window.
Despite knowing that figure, Chelsea are reportedly opposed to paying it in full in one payment, preferring to pay a marginally higher figure in three instalments.
However, Benfica are said to have failed to come to an agreement with Chelsea over Fernandez, who has allegedly stated his desire to join the Premier League club.
Enzo Fernández deal. As things stand, Chelsea & Benfica have not scheduled new meeting after talks collapsed 🚨🇦🇷 #CFC
Rui Costa always said: €120m [clause] or no way. Chelsea verbally discussed that with Benfica then official bid was €85m. No deal.
🎥 https://t.co/a58uN3CYyC pic.twitter.com/5NuEZDoECZ
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 5, 2023
With Chelsea also reportedly failing with a three-player proposal, negotiations are said to have stalled, with no obvious agreement unless either party changes their stance.
Schmidt was naturally pressed for an update on the situation when addressing the media ahead of Benfica’s match against Portimonense on Friday.
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Rather than commenting on a potential transfer, Schmidt said: “There is a club that wants him, they tried to attract him, but they know that they can only have him if they pay the clause.”
“It’s disrespectful to all of us, to Benfica, they’re driving the player crazy, they pretend they want to pay the clause and then they want to negotiate.”
Although Fernandez is said to want to move to West London, it has been reported that Benfica will not sell for less than the release clause.
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