Enzo Fernandez reveals Chelsea transfer regret in emotional message

Enzo Fernandez has been talking about his £106million move from Benfica to Chelsea in January 2023 and the midfielder has shared some regret over how it all unfolded

Enzo Fernandez has admitted he did not like the way he left Benfica last year when he joined Chelsea for £106million.

The 23-year-old midfielder moved for what was at the time a British record transfer fee - only to be pipped by Moises Caicedo's £115million switch to Stamford Bridge less than seven months later. Fernandez featured 29 times for Benfica before making the big-money move to Chelsea - with his performances for Argentina in their 2022 World Cup triumph being a major factor in the Blues' pursuit of the midfielder.

Fernandez, though, does not like the way he left things with Benfica supporters. While not going into too much detail of what he meant exactly, he sent a message to his fans during international duty with Argentina this week.

"Let me say hello the Benfica fans, who always send messages and remember me," Fernandez said, via the Express. "Obviously I didn't like the way I left the club, but I am very grateful to the club and everyone for all the support they give me."

Since his move to Chelsea almost two years ago, the Argentina international has played 70 times, scoring seven and assisting six along the way. However, even with 70 games under his belt for the Blues, some supporters are still unsure of where Fernandez's best position is.

Speaking last month, Enzo Maresca explained how he sees Fernandez as a box-to-box midfielder, and even compared his role to Declan Rice of Arsenal. Maresca also said he does not think anyone else in the Chelsea squad can be deployed in the same role as the Argentine.

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Maresca said: "I think it's very difficult in the way we play to find a midfielder that can attack like an attacking midfielder and defend like a holding midfielder. For instance, Arsenal are using Declan Rice as an attacking midfielder on the ball and as a holding midfielder when defending. Man City, in the past, have done this with Ilkay Gundogan.

"In our case, we are trying to find the balance and find the players who can give us this kind of solution. At the moment, Enzo is the only one. When we have the ball, he is playing like an attacking midfielder, and is dropping next to Moi when we don't have the ball to help us and give us defensive balance."

He added: "In the first game [vs Manchester City], we used Romeo [Lavia] and Moi as holding midfielders, but Enzo in this moment is playing on the ball as an attacking midfielder and off the ball as a holding midfielder. He is doing very good with us and the idea is to continue with that."

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