Chelsea, Benfica still ‘locked into negotiations’ after brief Enzo Fernández absence — reports

Welcome to the third day of the new year and the third day of the transfer window. Here’s your Daily Enzo Fernández.

The vibe is a bit less positive at the moment than it was just 24-48 hours ago, but according to the Evening Standard’s Nizaar Kinsella, Chelsea remain “locked into negotiations” with Benfica over the “structure” of the deal, which is in line with what was reported before. Benfica had initially softened their no-negotiations stance, but obviously they’re not going to give in easily.

The report says that we want a structured deal of three yearly €40m installments “to stay in line with UEFA Financial Fair Play rules”, which doesn’t really make sense since FFP accounting and amortization doesn’t care about installments, it cares about total fees and contract lengths (installments help with cash flow though).

Meanwhile, Enzo himself has stirred up some drama at the club by being absent for a couple training sessions after going back to Argentina for New Year’s. This has been reported as both unauthorized and authorized, with César Luis Merlo among the few claiming that Benfica boss Rui Costa had actually given “special” permission for the trip. Either way, Fernández is now back with the club though he’s said to still have his heart set on leaving.

Let’s see how long this drags on. The window’s open for four more weeks!