CHELSEA’S record signing Enzo Fernandez has been slammed for his performance against Real Madrid.
And one particular error “must be addressed”, with a second eventually leading to a goal.
Fernandez, 22, lined up in midfield last night as the Blues were beaten 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
He became the most expensive midfielder in history when he joined Chelsea from Benfica for £107million in January.
And Fernandez has so far impressed in 15 appearances.
However, the World Cup winner with Argentina struggled to compete with Luka Modric and Toni Kroos yesterday.
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One particular incident saw Fernandez lose possession before slowly jogging backwards as Chelsea team-mate Conor Gallagher, deployed as a forward, raced past him to defend.
Minutes later, Fernandez gave the ball away again and quickly saw Real Madrid take the lead through Rodrygo as he sauntered along the pitch.
This did not go down well with Champions League winner and Holland icon Wesley Sneijder.
The former Inter Milan and Real Madrid star believes Todd Boehly has every right to be furious with his big-money signing.
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And Sneijder insists Fernandez must address his work-rate issues instead of just focusing on playing passes.
He told RTL7: “If you have been brought in as a player for €100million then you can at least expect that he will run his lungs out, right?
“But he walked! He loses the ball himself, then he has a moment of mourning. You see Enzo, a €100m purchase [sic], trudge a bit while Gallagher runs past him.
“That is not possible, it must be addressed.
“You look at a boy like that and I wonder: what does he take ownership of? He doesn’t. I’d call that boy on the mat tomorrow.
“I don’t think he’s a great footballer either. You [the show’s presenter] said he did it for Lionel Messi [at the World Cup]. I thought he would do it at Chelsea too, but he doesn’t.
“If things don’t go smoothly in football, and you’re not scoring goals, then you have to make sure you don’t concede. You have to run your lungs out, and he won’t do that.
“I understand that [going and speaking to the players]. As an owner, you have paid so much money, so you are angry and you walk in.
“If you are the owner watching in the stands and you see that Gallagher is making such a sprint and your €100m [sic] player is not, then yes, I would also get angry!”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
