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Enzo Fernández pictured in a Chelsea shirt for the first time, wearing Jorginho’s old number 5, as the club unveiled the record-breaking £107m British signing after arriving at their training ground on Wednesday night on a private flight to London.
Enzo Fernández has been photographed in a Chelsea shirt for the first time since completing his British record £107m move from Benfica.
The World Cup winner from Argentina signed for the Blues on deadline day after the Premier League club reached an agreement with Benfica.
Fernández flew to London on a private jet, and the new Chelsea signing has now been unveiled in a series of photos taken at his Cobham training ground.
Chelsea confirmed Fernandez will wear the number 5 shirt previously won by Jorginho, as the Italian midfielder left the Blues on deadline day in a £12m move to Arsenal.
Fernández’s impressive move had been agreed in the dying minutes of the transfer window, as both clubs spent Tuesday in talks to try and finalize the move.
Enzo Fernández has been photographed in a Chelsea shirt for the first time after his £107m move
Fernández will wear the number 5 Chelsea shirt that previously belonged to Jorginho
The 22-year-old thanked the Chelsea owners for their determination to secure the deal.
The club made preparations for his medical in Portugal and arranged a private jet for him to board on Wednesday to fly to England.
At one point, it looked as if Chelsea would fail to close the deal for the 22-year-old, but both sides finally struck a breakthrough minutes before the 11pm deadline.
Fernández has thanked the Chelsea owners for their determination to secure the deal.
“I’m grateful to Chelsea and their estate for doing everything possible for me to be a part of this project,” Fernandez told Chelsea’s. club website.
I am happy and excited to join the Pride of London, play in the best league in the world and compete for the biggest trophies.
“I can’t wait to play in front of our fans and help my teammates on and off the pitch.”
The World Cup-winning Argentine has signed an eight-and-a-half-year deal that could keep him at the club until 2031.
Chelsea had mocked Fernandez’s introduction on Wednesday morning in a Twitter video.
Fernández arrived at Chelsea’s training ground on Wednesday morning following his transfer
Chelsea’s record signing (left, with his agent Uriel Perez) traveled to London on a private jet
The video contained a watch, his name above the Chelsea crest, fans at Stamford Bridge and ended with a photo of the player himself.
The Blues also changed their Twitter bio to an Argentina flag followed by a trophy emoji.
Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali has led negotiations with Benfica for the star, whom the Premier League side have branded a “complete midfielder”.
“With Enzo we are signing a World Cup winner and one of the brightest talents in world football,” Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly and Eghbali said in a joint statement.
We are excited to add him to the Graham team and are confident that he will be an important part of our team well into the future. Enzo has shown his ability at the highest levels, so we can’t wait to see what he will do in Chelsea blue!
Chelsea completed the World Cup best young player deal on deadline day
Fernández’s move to Stamford Bridge comes after Chelsea were linked with the Argentine star throughout January.
Benfica manager Rodger Schmidt had declared Chelsea’s search “closed” in early January, amid claims the Blues had no intention of paying Fernandez’s release clause.
The Blues revived their interest in the final days of the window after being told Brighton’s Moises Caicedo was not for sale.
This time, Chelsea were willing to pay the full release clause, but there were questions about how many installments would be required to make the payment.
The Chelsea hierarchy finally reached an agreement with Benfica a few hours before the deadline and managed to do the necessary paperwork to close the signing on time.
The signing took Chelsea’s total spending for January to more than £323m.