Chelsea ‘agree’ £112m fee for Newcastle United ‘target’ but face Financial Fair Play constraints

His form for the eventual world champions has led to great speculation that his six month spell at Benfica may be coming to an end with some of european football’s biggest clubs circling for his signature. And it appears that Graham Potter’s Chelsea have won the race to sign Fernandez with a reported £112m fee agreed between the clubs.

Benfica signed Fernandez from River Plate for just €18m in summer with both sides expected to net a tidy fee from the midfielder’s impending move to London. Newcastle United and Real Madrid had also been linked with a move for Fernandez this window.

Fernandez’s move to Chelsea could be completed in the coming days, however, the Blues have been forced to pay for the midfielder in instalments over the next few windows as a way to avoid Financial Fair Play sanctions after a huge summer transfer spend.

Big money moves for Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly last window, coupled with the likely addition of former Magpies target Benoit Badiashile this month, means Chelsea would have faced FFP restrictions had they paid Fernandez’s full fee outright.

The Blues could also make it a trio of signings also linked with a move to St James’s Park if they add Vasco De Gama midfielder Andrey Santos to their ranks this month. Santos is a highly-rated Brazilian midfielder and is expected to move to the Premier League - but his destination looks like being Stamford Bridge, rather than St James’s Park.