Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez has thanked the club for signing him in the January transfer window and making his Premier League dream come true.
Fernandez has been speaking to the Argentinian press after linking up with the world champions for this international break, with his comments relayed by La Nacion.
Fernandez joined Chelsea in a €121m deal from Benfica at the end of the January transfer window after impressing in Portugal following a move from River Plate in July 2022.
It was at the World Cup where he really exploded into the public consciousness, though, coming into the side as a permanent fixture in the third game of the tournament against Poland and going on to play a key role in his country’s eventual success in Qatar.
Those performances led to increased interest in him once the tournament was done and it was eventually Chelsea who secured his signature, paying a huge fee to get him ahead of the competition and make him one of the major signings of the Todd Boehly area.
“We know what the World Cup generates,” he said.
“It opens the doors to many places, as happened to me, who was at Benfica and my move to Chelsea was very great. I always said that playing in the Premier was my dream. I am very grateful to Chelsea for the opportunity.”
Fernandez’s time at Stamford Bridge has been something of a mixed one so far, with him, like others, clearly affected by the constant turmoil of the last year.
He initially arrived as a defensive midfielder reinforcement and played at the base of midfield during his first six months, a position he occupies for the national team.
However, he’s found himself playing further forward since the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino as Chelsea manager, with the coach seemingly determined to make him more of a goalscoring midfielder than a defensive one.
It’s a work in progress, to say the least, but one Fernandez is happy to adopt as he looks to demonstrate his best once again.
“They are different positions, at Chelsea I am playing a little further forward,” he added.
“Nothing changes, because since I was a child I have always played as a 5 and as a 8, I have no problem. Out of 5 you have to stay more with the defenders, and later on you have to let go more and be with the forwards.”
