Enzo Fernandez has won just four times as a Chelsea player

25/08/23 2125

Chelsea paid £106.8 million to sign midfielder Enzo Fernandez in January 2023. The Argentine was one of the first transfer buys under the ownership group led by Todd Boehly.

Since Fernandez’s arrival, Chelsea have spent similar amounts of money on young players in the transfer market, making nine-figure fees the new normal.

The midfielder had played a limited number of top-flight European football before arriving at Stamford Bridge.

Fernandez appeared in just 29 games in all competitions for Benfica before making the move to the Premier League.

Chelsea immediately put Fernandez in the starting XI. The club wanted to show the rest of the world the exciting player they acquired.

But Fernandez hasn’t been the exciting player the club hoped for. More importantly, Fernandez’s play in the middle of the pitch hasn’t inspired Chelsea to greater heights.

Fernandez has appeared in 24 matches in all competitions playing for Chelsea, winning just four times in a blue kit. Twelve of those 24 matches featuring Fernandez ended in defeat for Chelsea.

Those 12 defeats cannot be solely laid at Fernandez’s feet. Chelsea’s other big-money signings have been busts as well.

There is still plenty of time for the Boehly project to work. But the number of young players the club is stockpiling is getting ridiculous and it doesn’t appear to be working.

Fernandez scored zero goals in his opening 24 games for the Blues. He does have two assists from midfield.

His transfer market value has slightly dipped, but youth is on Fernandez’s side. Just 22, Fernandez has plenty of time to recover and become the player Chelsea thought they paid for.

Looking at Fernandez’s stats, he averages 1.48 shots, 81.89 passes, 9.88 progressive passes, and 2.68 tackles per 90 minutes compared to other midfielders.

Those are all fantastic numbers and rank the Argentine highly amongst his peers.

Fernandez wasn’t the first player signed under the Boehly regime. The owners had a transfer window to go shopping in before the Argentine arrived.

Winning the World Cup likely solidified Chelsea’s desire to sign Fernandez, although he was on their radar before winning the tournament.

There is an adage in football that says, “Don’t buy a player on the back of a strong World Cup.” Chelsea could be guilty of signing Fernandez thanks to a great World Cup.

He was surrounded by Argentina’s best players at the time and arguably the best player to ever play football.

At Chelsea, Fernandez isn’t surrounded by the same players. His lack of goals, assists, and wins at Stamford Bridge may not be a short-term trend.