Chelsea have reportedly activated a clause in the contract of midfielder Enzo Fernandez to extend his deal until 2032.
The West Londoners paid a British transfer record sum of £106.8 to bring the 22-year-old midfielder from Benfica to Stamford Bridge in January.
Fernandez had only been at Benfica for six months after joining from River Plate for £12m last summer, but he chose to join Chelsea and signed an eight-and-a-half-year contract.
Less than four months into his Chelsea tenure, journalist Cesar Luis Merlo believes that the Premier League giants have opted to activate an option to extend his current contract by an additional 12 months to the summer of 2032.
Fernandez now has the longest contract at Stamford Bridge, edging out fellow big-money January signing Mykhaylo Mudryk, who is under contract with the Blues until 2031.
Fernandez has established himself as a first-team regular at Chelsea since moving to West London. He has started all 13 of Chelsea’s games in the Premier League and Champions League and has played the full 90 minutes on 11 of those occasions.
Fernandez was one of Argentina’s breakout stars at the 2022 World Cup, winning the Young Player of the Tournament in Qatar.
Fernandez has already made an impression on interim manager Frank Lampard, who has praised the midfielder’s leadership qualities.
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“Chelsea brought in some younger players throughout this season. We had to give them a chance at developing into the leaders we want them to be,” Lampard told reporters, as quoted by GOAL, after the 2-0 Champions League loss to Real Madrid on Wednesday.
“Enzo is becoming a leader, but he’s 22, I think it’s quite difficult for us to talk about that, he’ll have to find his way.
In response to Lampard’s praise, Fernandez added: “I always dream to be a leader because when I started, I always wanted to be an example.
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