January 05, (THEWILL) – Chelsea have faced backlash from Benfica manager, Roger Schmidt, over their pursuit of midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
The Blues agreed on personal terms with the 21-year-old earlier this winter, but have been pushing for a deal paid in instalments rather than triggering his €120m release clause. With Benfica insisting on receiving the full amount, talks between the two clubs have broken down.
Schmidt slammed Chelsea for their “disrespectful” approach and accused them of trying to “make the player crazy” and “pretend they can pay the clause and later they want to negotiate”.
He was apparently livid about this style of negotiations, especially as it seems the English Premier League side is taking advantage of their profile as a destination for most players and he concluded that “it’s not what I understand about good relationships between clubs, who maybe, want to discuss about a player.”
Despite the criticism, Chelsea have not given up hope of convincing Benfica to sell and Fernandez has expressed a desire to join the club this month.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
