CHELSEA have reportedly seen an offer for Enzo Fernandez of £79million, Hakim Ziyech AND two players on loan rejected by Benfica.
The 21-year-old Argentine is being heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in the January window.
But his current club Benfica will not let him go for a cut price, particularly considering his release clause stands at £106m.
Chelsea were attempting to navigate the sizable fee by putting players forward as part of the deal.
According to Record, they submitted a cash amount of £75m.
That was then propped up by the addition of Ziyech, 29, who shone with Morocco at the World Cup but has been out of favour in west London for some time.
READ MORE ON CHELSEA
And then the Blues were also willing to hand Benfica two players on loan.
One of those was 20-year-old midfielder David Datro Fofana – who only joined Chelsea in the January window.
And the other was Brazilian Audrey Santos, 18, who is yet to complete a move from Vasco da Gama.
However, Benfica president Rui Costa is believed to have shown “a lot of displeasure” at the offer as they understood Chelsea were willing to hand over £112m across three payments.
Most read in Football
HOW TO GET FREE BETS ON FOOTBALL
Fernandez only joined Benfica in the summer and has a contract with the Portuguese giants until 2027.
He was brilliant for Argentina in Qatar, starting their final group game and all subsequent knockout stage matches on their way to World Cup glory.
As a result of his superb performances, the talented South American was named the Young Player of the Tournament.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are keen to arrest their slump as they currently sit 10th in the Premier League table.
New owner Todd Boehly spent more than £250m in the summer but it does not seem to have paid off.
And now they are looking at a host of deals in the January window including Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk and Benoit Badiashile.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
