Chelsea remain content with Enzo Fernandez investment despite poor start in England
As reported last week, Graham Potter did feel the fee Chelsea paid for Enzo Fernandez was massive, but he still wanted the player. He just didn’t think it was possible, and nor did Chelsea’s owners for large parts of the January window. The deal only got done with four minutes to spare, and those close to it believe had Benfica not been beating Arouca on Deadline Day, Rui Costa might have pulled the plug.
Everyone at Chelsea was obsessed with Enzo, especially Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, who were intent on landing the then Benfica midfielder after seeing him at the World Cup.
It was obvious the fee required to land Enzo was high – over double his market value. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t smart business. It was a calculated decision to pay a British-transfer record fee of £105m (€121m), offering £860k (€1m) above the release clause ((€121m) to get more preferable payment terms.
Fixating on the fee alone mispresents the deal. Chelsea view the transfer fee as an investment not an expense and believe that Enzo will grow into his price tag. He probably already has gone up in value, even in a poor season for Chelsea. The Argentine has taken to the Premier League quickly and will form a crucial part of Mauricio Pochettino’s plans.
Potter didn’t have doubts about the quality Chelsea were bringing in during the January window, only the volume. He was in a tough position because Chelsea’s recruitment team were happy to plan long term, but Potter needed short-term results and to do that a manageable squad size was essential.
I think it’s important to understand that in Chelsea’s recruitment model, led by Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, decisions are taken by numbers. The most important thing is a freedom to challenge within the dynamic. If there wasn’t disagreement and healthy debate it would be more alarming. So it’s normal for different opinions on players, including from the manager.
But the manager, just like anyone else, doesn’t have autonomy in this type of model despite being a key voice. So when it’s suggested Pochettino (who doesn’t even officially start until July 1) was the one aggressively pushing for Sporting’s Manuel Ugarte, it’s not strictly accurate. The manager will always have a say, but Ugarte (even though Chelsea pulled out over the weekend, and he has subsequently joined PSG) was a long-term target pre-dating Pochettino. If clubs just let their manager, especially a new one, just pick all the targets then they would undermine their strategy and window-planning and risk constantly having to change approaches.
Real Madrid are not necessarily favourites for Harry Kane
I don’t think there is a ‘favourite’ for Harry Kane because right now Daniel Levy doesn’t want to sell. However, Real Madrid considering Kane is an intriguing twist. And with Karim Benzema’s exit to Al-Ittihad, finding a goal scorer is now a big priority for Real.
We have had Kane to Bayern links before, but a move to Germany is not of interest to the England striker so there was nothing much in them. Yet Real is interesting because Levy would have the chance to do business with a non-English club and thus bypass selling him to a domestic rival.
Real’s interest is genuine, but Levy is going to be stubborn. There is a very real chance he keeps Kane for another season and lets the contract run down in the hope that, should things improve under incoming Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou, then a new agreement can eventually be reached.
Spurs were optimistic Kane would extend late last year, and although the situation has changed, and the project moved backwards, Spurs are still calm about the situation.
Levy showed when Manchester City came calling in summer 2021 that he is quite prepared to price his star asset out the market. He asked for £200m to even start a conversation back then.
As previously reported, it’s going to take £100m+ to stand a chance with Kane now. Manchester United have purposefully gone to the player side to see what is feasible and understand if Kane will help any transfer, should stumbling blocks be hit, by insisting on the move. Manchester United simply don’t want their time wasted which is why they have moved early. There remains low optimism anything will be possible despite him being a top target.
Kane to Real might sit easier with Levy. And he has already sold both Gareth Bale and Luka Modric to Florentino Perez. Real are also looking at Chelsea forward Kai Havertz, too, whilst Bobby Firmino is a budget option as well who is a available on a free transfer after leaving Liverpool.
Remember, Real are set to pay a big transfer fee for Jude Bellingham so the prospect of adding Kane could present financial considerations. But it wouldn’t be a surprise if come the end of the window Kane is still a Spurs player as he looks to edge ever closer to Alan Shearer’s Premier League goal scoring record (260). This is important to him. Kane is currently on 213 goals after scoring 30 last season.