Chelsea are pulling out all the stops in their pursuit of Enzo Fernandez.

The Blues are ready to break the British transfer record in order to sign the Benfica midfielder before Tuesday’s deadline, tabling a £105-million offer (€120 million) for the World Cup star, reports David Ornstein of The Athletic.

The existing record belongs to Manchester City, who paid £100 million for Jack Grealish in 2021. Chelsea’s most expensive signing is Romelu Lukaku, who cost £97.5 million when he rejoined the west London outfit from Inter Milan that same summer. Lukaku has since been loaned back to Inter.

Despite links with several other midfielders during a chaotic January window, Fernandez has remained Chelsea’s primary target to bolster that area of the pitch. The 22-year-old played a key role in helping Argentina hoist the World Cup in Qatar with a series of excellent performances that saw his stock skyrocket. Fernandez only joined Benfica this past summer, with the Portuguese club paying a relatively paltry €10 million, plus a potential €8 million in add-ons, to acquire him from River Plate.

Benfica want Chelsea to pay the entire £105-million fee, which satisfies the buyout clause in Fernandez’s contract, in one lump sum, sources told Jacob Steinberg of The Guardian. Chelsea would prefer to spread the potential record-breaking amount over six installments, Steinberg adds.

Chelsea, who have opened their wallet without inhibition since being bought by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, have already spent over €200 million on new signings this month alone, headlined by the arrival of Ukrainian forward Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk.

They’ve also added the likes of Joao Felix on an onerous loan, as well as Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke, Andrey Santos, David Datro Fofana, and, most recently, Malo Gusto.

UEFA is planning on closing the loophole that’s allowed Chelsea to circumvent financial fair play (FFP) rules numerous times since last summer.

The European governing body will impose a five-year limit for the maximum length of time a transfer fee can be spread over after a number of concerned teams contacted UEFA about Chelsea’s transfer policy in January, reports Martyn Ziegler of The Times.

That means that deals such as the amortized eight-and-a-half-year contract that Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk signed when he joined Chelsea last week will be prohibited in the future.

Using amortization – the act of writing off the initial cost of a player – to complete the lucrative transfer allowed the Premier League team to record Mudryk’s £80-million transfer fee as £9.41 million per year for UEFA’s FFP calculation. Had the Blues signed Mudryk to a four-year deal, his fee would’ve been recorded as £20 million per year.

“If other clubs start doing the same with eight-year contracts, it will be a mess, so we need to protect them,” a source told Ziegler about UEFA’s thought process for closing the FFP loophole.

“It is simply shifting a problem to the future. Either a club can get stuck with a player on a high salary that they cannot sell, or if they sell him after three or four years, they will not realize much profit (in accounting terms) because a lot of his transfer fee has not been amortized.”

Chelsea have used amortization in a number of other deals since the club began its over £400-million spending spree last summer. Players such as Wesley Fofana, David Datro Fofana, and Benoit Badiashile have signed contracts in excess of six years.

The contest between Lionel Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Riyadh All-Star XI was billed as a friendly, but there was nothing cordial about Thursday’s affair in Saudi Arabia.

In an entertaining encounter featuring nine goals, two yellow cards, and one straight red, 10-man Paris Saint-Germain emerged as the winners after beating the All-Star side 5-4 at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.

Ronaldo’s team was comprised of players from his new side, Al Nassr, and Riyadh’s other noteworthy outfit, Al Hilal.

Messi opened the scoring three minutes into the game, and Ronaldo bagged a first-half brace to make it 2-2 before halftime.

The two sides traded goals after the break before Kylian Mbappe converted a penalty in the 60th minute. After the goal, the match lost some luster after stars like Mbappe, Messi, and Ronaldo were substituted from the game.

PSG youngster Hugo Ekitike registered what seemed to be a consolation goal at the time, but the 20-year-old forward’s impressive strike ended up being the winner after Talisca scored Riyadh’s fourth late in the game.

The contest was Ronaldo’s first in Saudi Arabia since joining Al Nassr in December. The move transpired after Manchester United terminated the 37-year-old’s contract.

Mykhailo Mudryk is Chelsea’s latest answer to help solve attacking woes that have plagued the Blues this season.

The 22-year-old winger was unveiled by Chelsea after leaving Shakhtar Donetsk and signing an eight-and-a-half year contract that will keep him at Stamford Bridge until 2031, the Premier League club announced Sunday.

“I’m so happy to sign for Chelsea,” Mudryk said.

“This is a huge club, in a fantastic league and it is a very attractive project for me at this stage of my career. I’m excited to meet my new team-mates and I’m looking forward to working and learning under Graham Potter and his staff.”

The transfer was announced a day after Chelsea agreed to pay Shakhtar Donetsk a transfer fee worth an initial €70 million. The fee could rise to €100 million if various clauses are met, the Ukrainian club confirmed.

It’s understood that a portion of the €30 million in add-ons is contingent on Chelsea winning the Premier League or the Champions League during Mudryk’s stay, reports transfer insider Fabrizio Romano.

“We are delighted to welcome Mykhailo to Chelsea,” said Todd Boehly, Chelsea chairman, and Behdad Eghbali, co-controlling owner. “He’s a hugely exciting talent who we believe will be a terrific addition to our squad both now and in the years to come. He will add further depth to our attack and we know he’ll get a very warm welcome to London.”

Mudryk is the second forward to arrive in January following Joao Felix’s loan move from Atletico Madrid last week.

Chelsea currently sit 10th in the Premier League after going winless in their last three Premier League games before Sunday’s tilt against Crystal Palace.

Mudryk had seven goals and six assists in 12 league matches with Shakhtar this season.