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On Monday morning, we all saw Chelsea’s pursuit for Enzo Fernandez getting back on track, with reports from Portugal, Spain and Argentina claiming the Blues would still try to get the midfielder signed in the January transfer window.

There was even a report from journalist Cesar Luis Merlo claiming that with Benfica not willing to sell the player, his €120m release clause would need to be triggered. And with taxes, that amount would get to €160m.

Those were strange claims, despite Merlo recently being an important journalist covering the Argentine market, and it turns out he’s now back with an update on the situation.

The reporter now says Chelsea have placed an offer for Fernandez. That was worth €120m, with no bonuses, with part of the money paid now and the rest in five instalments. The decision should now be in the hands of Benfica president Rui Costa.

With the Blues trying to split the payment, that’s a sign that they’re not triggering the release clause, so the Eagles indeed still hold the power

In case the bid is true, we see it unlikely that Benfica would turn that down, since that had always been the price they demanded for Fernandez, especially when Chelsea tried with €100m plus a couple of players.