Enzo Fernandez’s past 12 months have been a whirlwind that almost every young footballer can only dream of.
At the start of 2022, Fernandez was still finding his feet at elite Argentine side River Plate and was looking ahead to building what was already a promising career.
One year on and he is now a Benfica star on the brink of joining Chelsea in a move worth £112million. It comes just weeks after winning the World Cup with Argentina, having been named the best young player by FIFA in Qatar.
Enzo Fernandez is on the brink of joining Chelsea from Benfica in a sensational £112m transfer
Fernandez kisses the World Cup trophy after helping Argentina win the tournament in Qatar
Even if the 21-year-old had confidence in his own ability to eventually tick off all those boxes, it is doubtful he could have checked them off within a year.
Chelsea have been caught in a bout of World Cup fever and are ready to take the plunge on the central midfielder, having offered the fee to be paid in three annual instalments of £37.3m.
So desperate are the Blues to bring the Benfica star to the Premier League – the final fee is £6m over his current release clause in his contract.
But what can Blues fans expect in return for the superstar who Graham Potter will hope can help kickstart a stuttering campaign for the west London side as he seeks to rebuild a side in his image.
Fernandez has always appeared to have been destined for a career in the game ever since his football mad father named him after Uruguay legend Enzo Francescoli.
Graham Potter is now keen to land the creative midfielder for Chelsea in January
Enzo Francescoli (right) was a Uruguay star and is pictured playing against England in 1995
It’s probably likely that as soon as he took his first steps, it wasn’t long before a football was soon between his feet and by the age of five in 2006 he was already on the books of River Plate.
Progressing through the ranks he turned professional in 2019 at the age of 18 and barely had any experience in the reserves before manager Marcelo Gallardo called him up to the first-team and handed him a debut in 2020.
A loan move followed to Defensa y Justicia, who were managed by former Chelsea striker Hernan Crespo – and he gave him his chance to properly get his senior career underway.
He started slowly but under the guidance of the ex-Argentina international soon found his feet and – just 14 games later – earned his first career medal in the 2020 Copa Sudamericana – South America’s equivalent to the Europa League.
With his reputation enhanced he returned to River Plater ready to kick on and just 40 games and a title win later he was off to Benfica last summer in a move worth £10m.
Hernan Crespo helped give the midfielder his break in professional football at Defensa
By this point he had still not been capped by Argentina, although the 21-year-old was already on the senior team’s radar having been called up by Lionel Scaloni for World Cup qualifiers against Brazil and Uruguay in November 2021.
Scaloni couldn’t ignore him for too much longer, though.
Having been given the famous No 13 shirt worn by the legendary forward Eusebio, he didn’t wilt under pressure and scored on his debut with a half-volley outside the box in a Champions League qualifier over Midtjylland – before then also scoring in next two games for the club.
From August to October he was named midfielder of the month in the Portuguese top flight, during which time he made his international debut in later September after coming on for Leandro Paredes in a 3-0 friendly win over Honduras.
After his loan spell, Fernandez soon kicked on at River Plate before joining Benfica
He came off the bench at the World Cup to score against Mexico, earning his starting XI spot
Fernandez started the World Cup on the bench, with Argentina losing 2-1 against Saudi Arabia but he soon made an impact in the next game against Mexico after coming on as a sub to score his first international goal in the 2-0 win.
It earned him a spot in Scaloni’s starting XI in central midfield – one he never relinquished and saw him prove so crucial his performances were rewarded with the Young Player of the World Cup gong after helping his country win the competition for the first time since 1986.
He’s been celebrating ever since missing Benfica training on New Year’s eve after he was pictured partying in Argentina, leading to hurt Benfica fans telling him to ‘go to hell’ and urging the club to sell him to Chelsea.
Fernandez is still with childhood sweetheart Valentina Cervantes and they have a young daughter together
In his own words, Fernandez admits he is a fan of Frenkie De Jong’s game, saying in 2020: ‘From the outside I like Leandro Paredes and Frankie De Jong, who does everything well: he arrives in the area and can play in any position in the middle.’
These sorts of abilities will be of massive appeal to Potter, who is keen to freshen up his midfield with youthful energy and Fernandez is well known to find a creative pass and play it quick as well as recover the ball.
Although he is more comfortable in a deeper role, he can player higher up in the midfield too and he looks ideal for the Premier League given how comfortable he deals with a pressing game from opponents.
Off the pitch, Fernandez is still with childhood sweetheart Valentina Cervantes.
The pair started dating in 2018 when he was just 17 and now they have a young daughter together. They followed him to Lisbon and it’s expected they’ll join him in London, too.
Fernandez has played just 14 games for Benfica but, given his rapid rise in the last year, even £112m could be a cheap price for the midfielder if the Blues can unlock his full potential.
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