Joao Felix defends Chelsea new boy following record January transfer

Joao Felix praises new Chelsea signing Enzo Fernandez and defends his price tag

Speaking to AS (h/t Metro), Joao Felix heaped praise on new Chelsea signing Enzo Fernandez and defended his high price tag.

Although Felix himself is a new addition to the squad having signed from Atletico Madrid on loan last month, Fernandez is the latest of all the signings Chelsea made in January.

The Blues broke the British transfer record to sign the Argentina international for a fee worth around £106.8m. He showed his quality in his first start against Fulham, depicting why he is valued so highly on the world stage.

Here’s what Felix said about Fernandez and his qualities as a player (h/t Metro):

“He’s a really good guy, he has entered the group very well.

“He arrived only two days before a game [against Fulham] but started playing straight away. He has been very good. He is a very good player.”

“It is becoming more and more normal for amounts like this to be spent. He deserves that valuation because he is a young player, he is very good and he still has a lot of room to evolve. He will surely become one of the best midfielders in Europe.”

People talk as if Chelsea had that fee in mind when looking to sign Fernandez. We all know Benfica were adamant that the deal will only happen if the Blues match their release clause, which was the amount that got paid to sign the player.

Considering how badly Chelsea wanted to sign the 21-year-old, it makes sense to pay the money and make it happen. Waiting till the summer might have been a risky move because more clubs come in contention during summer windows compared to the January one.

In a world where players like Jack Grealish go for £100m and struggle for form and consistency in his new team, Fernandez is worth that much because of what he can do in midfield and how much scope he has to become of the best midfielders in Europe for years to come.

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• Inter Milan hoping to keep Romelu Lukaku after talks with Chelsea

So, it is only right that the Argentine’s teammate is defending his price tag. For him to succeed, it would be best to ignore how much the club paid to get him. If he performs well, no one remembers the price.