Former Chelsea boss Graham Potter warned Chelsea owner Todd Boehly that Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez was ‘too expensive’ before the club smashed the British transfer record to sign him, it has been revealed.
Boehly took charge of the club 12 months ago, and has overseen major change, with over £500m having been spent on almost an entirely new squad of players, few of whom have so far proved their worth to the west London club.
Chief among them was Enzo Fernandez, who arrived on transfer deadline day in January, breaking the British transfer record in the process of his 121m euro deal.
He has been adequate for the Blues, having started each of the 18 games that he has been eligible to play in the top flight and providing two assists during that time.
It was after his performances at the World Cup, where he helped Argentina to a famous win after being thrust into the side following their group stage opening shock defeat to Saudi Arabia, that Boehly was sold on the youngster.
Allegedly, after his part in the final, Boehly turned to his staff and simply told them “Get me that man”, which they promptly did, even if it cost them a record fee.
Full video of David Ornstein saying Todd Boehly told his Chelsea recruitment staff – ‘Get me that man’ about Enzo Fernandez, after the World Cup Final. pic.twitter.com/v44NmbdKbJ
— Felix (@FelixJohnston_) February 1, 2023
They claim that ‘Potter had warned against too many signings and told the board that Enzo Fernández, the Argentina midfielder, was overpriced’, before he eventually lost his job in March, with Frank Lampard taking the role on an interim basis.
Potter has already been proved half right, with the number of signings having proved a real issue for successive managers and it becoming an impossible job to keep everyone happy. Whether he is proved right on Fernandez will not become clear for several years.
