Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy thinks Chelsea have overspent again on Enzo Fernandez after getting “bent over” by Benfica.
The Argentina international sealed a British record £106.8m transfer to Stamford Bridge from the Portuguese giants on transfer deadline day after the two teams got all the documents in on time.
Chelsea had been chasing Fernandez since the World Cup with the midfielder winning the Young Player of the Tournament award in Qatar as Argentina won the World Cup.
Benfica were very firm in demanding his release clause with the Blues willing to pay more if it meant they could stagger payments and it is thought negotiations over payment structure took the deal right to the wire.
And Murphy thinks Fernandez is a “good midfielder” but that he is not worth over £100m with Manchester United’s Casemiro and Manchester City’s Rodri better players.
“Chelsea are overpaying for players, I still don’t think the majority of their first XI gets anywhere near Man City’s team,” Murphy told talkSPORT.
“I’ve watched Enzo Fernandez live and he’s decent, but he’s not £100m. They’ve been absolutely bent over there. He’s a good midfielder, he’s tenacious, he’s young, he gets on the ball and he’s brave.
“But he’s not Casemiro, he’s not Rodri. They’re overspending on players, clubs are seeing Chelsea come and they’re basically just pulling their pants down.”
As well as Fernandez, Chelsea signed Mykhaylo Mudryk, Benoît Badiashile, Malo Gusto, Noni Madueke, Andrey Santos, David Datro Fofana and Joao Felix in the January transfer window.
And Ferdinand thinks Fernandez will be a “success” for Chelsea despite the price tag and doubts he’ll “won’t be fazed” by coming into the Premier League.
Ferdinand said on his Vibe with Five YouTube channel: “Bad player, wicked player! He’s got it. He’s a good player. I’d be surprised if he comes in and isn’t a success.
“He’s a top player. He was the best young player at the tournament in the World Cup I thought. He was integral for them.
“His passing, his composure for a young player was top and he won’t be fazed if he handled the World Cup the way he did.
“He played at Benfica a big club in that country and the demands at the club, he’s used to pressure. The money is irrelevant if you look at it and think he could be here for five or six years. Chelsea are on a mad one.”
READ MORE: Fun to watch? Chelsea spending this year has actually been pretty disgusting
