Enzo Fernandez could bid goodbye to Chelsea in the summer
Speaking on RTL7, quoted by Metro, Dutch legend Wesley Sneijder has slammed the performance of Enzo Fernandez against Real Madrid and claimed that Todd Boehly would not be happy with the Argentine.
The 2010 Champions League winner with Inter Milan was not happy with the work rate of Fernandez as Madrid cruised past Chelsea in the second leg of the quarter-final and went through to the semi-final with an aggregate score of 4-0.
The Blues broke the British transfer record to sign the 2022 World Cup winner in the January window. Although he has looked out of colour at times, the signs are there that he will come good sooner rather than later.
Here’s what Sneijder said about the 22-year-old’s performance and why Boehly would not be happy (h/t Metro):
“If you have been brought in as a player for €100million (Chelsea paid £106.8m) then you can at least expect that he will run his lungs out, right?
“But he walked! He loses the ball himself, then he has a moment of mourning. You see Enzo, a €100m purchase [sic], trudge a bit while Gallagher runs past him.
“I don’t think he’s a great footballer either. You [the show’s presenter] said he did it for Lionel Messi [at the World Cup]. I thought he would do it at Chelsea too, but he doesn’t.
“If you are the owner watching in the stands and you see that Gallagher is making such a sprint and your €100m [sic] player is not, then yes, I would also get angry!”
Although some parts of this quote are more of a reactionary comment, Sneijder is not wrong with what he is trying to convey. But, Chelsea must have known Fernandez’s attributes before signing him for such a big fee, right? Or are these the signs that they signed players on current trends rather than the qualities they can bring to the team?
The former Benfica midfielder is an excellent passer of the ball and reads the game well, however, he has never been that good when it comes to running. Hence, a N’Golo Kante-type midfielder alongside him would be perfect.
Amidst all that, let’s not forget that the whole team is not playing well at the moment. So, picking out on someone who arrived mid-way through this horror campaign would be a bit unfair.
We can allow Fernandez to have one full pre-season with us under the new manager and hope that he comes good next season onwards. He has the necessary qualities to become very good in a Chelsea shirt.
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