Soccer

Transfer deadline day round-up: Chelsea pay record £105m for Enzo Fernandez

Arsenal sign Jorginho from Chelsea; Joao Cancelo goes to Bayern Munich; Pedro Porro joins Tottenham

Argentina's Enzo Fernandez: The midfielder is set to become the Premier League's most expensive player. Photograph: PA
Argentina's Enzo Fernandez: The midfielder is set to become the Premier League's most expensive player. Photograph: PA
Wed Feb 01 2023 - 00:21

Chelsea reached an agreement with Benfica to sign Argentina World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez for a British record fee of £105.6 million (€120 million), according to reports late on Tuesday. As the transfer window closed at 11pm, Chelsea raced to register the paperwork.

The fee eclipses the £100 million Manchester City paid Aston Villa for England midfielder Jack Grealish in 2021.

Fernandez was instrumental in Argentina’s World Cup campaign in Qatar, with the 22-year-old breaking into the starting lineup and playing every game, capping off the tournament by bagging the Young Player Award.

It is understood that Chelsea reached an agreement with Benfica about two hours before the window shut at 11pm. Fernández’s contract contained a €120m (£105.9m) release clause and Benfica were adamant it be paid in full.

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The deal will take Chelsea’s spending under the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership to more than £500 million.

Arsenal signed Chelsea midfielder Jorginho in a £12 million deadline-day deal.

The Premier League leaders had a bid accepted by their London rivals and the Italy midfielder underwent to undergo a medical and signed a one-and-a-half-year deal.

Arsenal were keen to bolster their midfield and turned attention to the 31-year-old having been rebuffed by Brighton in their attempts to sign Moises Caicedo.

Chelsea, for their part, were willing to let the player go as they pursued Fernandez.

The deal also allowed the Blues to bring in a fee for a player who would have been out of contract at the end of the season.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu with new signing Jorginho at their London Colney training ground. Photograph: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu with new signing Jorginho at their London Colney training ground. Photograph: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Pedro Porro completed his long-touted move to Tottenham from Sporting, with the right-back joining on loan before the €45 million transfer is made permanent in the summer.

Negotiations have been back and forth since the start of January and have not been straightforward, the complications including how to factor in the solidarity payments to Porro’s previous clubs and the way that the deal would be structured, with Spurs not keen to pay up front.

Pedro Porro has swapped Sporting Lisbon for Spurs. Photograph: Getty Images
Pedro Porro has swapped Sporting Lisbon for Spurs. Photograph: Getty Images

The breakthrough finally came on Monday night, which allowed Porro to travel to London to undergo his medical. Spurs are obligated to pay the money owing to Sporting on July 1st; €45 million was the value of the buyout clause in Porro’s contract. It is understood that the clause came to be inactive towards the end of January.

Pep Guardiola decided Joao Cancelo had to be loaned to Bayern Munich after being disappointed by the full-back’s attitude when given decreased game time for Manchester City.

Cancelo lost his first-team berth and did not feature in the past three matches. It is understood the manager felt the 28-year-old should be allowed to go because of an unwillingness to accept a reduced role.

Cancelo joined Bayern until the end of the season, with the option to buy for €70 million (£61.6 million). The move is a surprise but Cancelo’s desire for greater playing time alerted Bayern.

Southampton agreed to pay a club record fee to sign Kamaldeen Sulemana from Rennes. The Ghana winger will cost an initial €25 million plus a potential €5 million in future bonuses having spent 18 months in Ligue 1 since joining from FC Nordsjælland

Crystal Palace sealed loan deal to sign Albert Sambi Lokonga from Arsenal having also agreed a deal to sign 20-year-old Naouirou Ahamada from Stuttgart for £10.5 million.

Newcastle followed up their signing of Anthony Gordon from Everton by securing Scotland Under-21 full-back Harrison Ashby from West Ham for a reported £3 million.

Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas joined Nottingham Forest on loan from Ligue 1 side Paris St Germain. Navas, who the Champions League three times with Real Madrid, has signed on loan for the remainder of the 2022/23 campaign.

Forest also completed the signing of midfielder Jonjo Shelvey from Newcastle and defender Felipe from Atletico Madrid.

Bournemouth agreed a fee with Dynamo Kiev for 20-year-old defender Ilya Zabarnyi.

Leeds confirmed defender Diego Llorente has joined Roma on loan until the end of the season with a view to a permanent deal.

The 29-year-old centre-half signed a three-and-a-half-year contract extension with the club last month, but has struggled to force his way into head coach Jesse Marsch’s starting line-up.

Leeds also signed a player for the future in 18-year-old centre-back Diogo Monteiro from Swiss Super League side Servette FC.

Championship side Norwich signed 19-year-old Arsenal winger Marquinhos on loan until the end of the season.