Chelsea flex financial muscle with British record deal for Enzo Fernandez

The deal will almost certainly lead to questions over whether UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules are working and whether the Premier League, after its biggest ever January spend, is now so rich that it has an unfair advantage in the market.

CHELSEA BOUND: Argentina's Enzo Fernandez.

Chelsea have flexed their financial muscle in a way never seen before in Europe after agreeing the biggest fee in British football history, 120m Euros to sign midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Benfica, taking their entire spending in the transfer window to more than the total spent by all of Serie A, La Liga, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga combined.

The staggering deadline day deal, which will take the club’s January spending close to 400m Euros once officially confirmed, underlines that new American owner Todd Boehly is determined to follow in the footsteps of predecessor Roman Abramovich by dominating the market through the sheer force of his and the club’s wealth.