Enzo Fernández – Chelsea’s Captain
Some may be surprised to learn that Enzo Fernández is just about to turn 24 years old in January because it seems like he’s been on the world stage for years. As a youngster, he didn’t automatically jump straight into the River Plate first team, he had to work on his craft out on loan at Defensa y Justicia.
There, under Argentine legend Hernán Crespo, he developed into a first team level player and won the first trophies of his career, picking up Copa Sudamericana and Recopa Sudamericana medals before heading back to Los Millonarios. His trajectory then exploded. After an incredible start to the 2022 Argentine season where he scored eight goals and provided six assists in 19 games, he was named the ‘best active footballer in Argentina’.
This form, obviously, didn’t go unnoticed and led to Benfica splashing out a reported €44.25m (via Transfermarkt) on the midfielder. However, six months later he would then move to Chelsea in what was a British-record fee of around €121m. This wasn’t only due to impressing in Portugal but his incredible World Cup performances which helped Argentina win the tournament. He didn’t only win the tournament however, he was also voted as the best young player at the tournament, triggering Chelsea to pay that monster fee.
His footballing timeline is one which shows an absolutely incredible rise in such a short space of time;
2019 – River Plate debut at 18 years old
2020-2021 – Loan spell at Defensa y Justicia where he won the Copa Sudamericana
2021 – Returned to River Plate, became a first team regular and won the Primera División
2022 – Moves to Benfica in the summer, wins the World Cup with Argentina in the winter, being voted the best young player at the tournament
2023 – Joins Chelsea in January for a British-record fee
2024 – Wins the Copa América with Argentina
It was an astronomical fee and one that would be hard to justify, however, after almost two years at the club, his influence has never been more apparent, particularly in the last few weeks. Currently the club captain, here’s where he sits in the stats in relation to his teammates (via FotMob);
Assists: 3 (Joint-second with Jadon Sancho and Nicolas Jackson)
Big Chances Created: 5 (Second after Cole Palmer)
Chances Created: 21 (Second after Palmer)
Expected Assists (xA): 2.4 (Second after Palmer)
Accurate Long Balls Per 90: 3.0 (First)
Successful Tackles Per 90: 1.4 (Fifth after Renato Veiga, Moisés Caicedo, Malo Gusto and Romeo Lavia)
Goals & Assists: 6 (Fourth after Palmer, Jackson and Noni Madueke)
Accurate Passes Per 90: 48.7 (Fifth after Levi Colwill, Veiga, Wesley Fofana and Caicedo)
Goals: 3 (Fourth after Palmer, Jackson, and Madueke)
FotMob Rating: 7.13 (Seventh after Palmer, Caicedo, Madueke, Jackson, Sancho and Fofana)
Ranking so highly in all these categories highlights his importance to the team, personally, I also think the FotMob rating is lower than it should be!
Radar via FotMob
The radar, again, highlights his importance to the team and shows his performance compared to other midfielders in the Premier League. Enzo’s ranking so highly in touches is absolutely no surprise, he drops deep to get on the ball and loves to dictate the play and start attacking moves. His chances created and creativity has really improved this year, in my personal opinion. He’s not only getting into really good forward positions to help create chances but his decision making and weight of pass have been at an elite level.
Having five goal contributions in 13 appearances (nine starts) is very impressive for someone that’s supposed to be a deeper lying midfielder. That being said, Enzo Maresca has been deploying him further up in recent weeks and it’s definitely paying dividends. We’ve looked at his rankings amongst his teammates but let’s look at his individual stats in the Premier League this season;
- 14 Appearances (10 Starts)
- 3G/3A
- 161mins Per Goal Contribution
- 85.2% Pass Accuracy
- 60.4% Long Ball Accuracy
- 1.95 Chances Created Per90
His biggest standout numbers are in his passing and attacking play, the passing numbers being particularly impressive;
Stats via FotMob
The biggest surprise to some people may actually be the pass accuracy being around 85% although I think that’s definitely more to do with the role that he’s now playing in the system. He doesn’t always need to be the player that drops the deepest but he is the one that’s expected to take some of the creative onus off of the likes of Cole Palmer and whichever wingers are playing.
This role is probably the most advanced he’s played since coming to Europe and it’s a role he’s definitely growing in to. He has all the attributes to be an elite advanced eight or even a 10, although I think his tenacity and ability to create from deeper areas may be wasted if he was utilised in the latter position. His recent form has been outstanding, it all seemed to turn around after getting three assists in 45 minutes in the 8-0 drubbing of FC Noah.
Stats via FotMob
That is what you call a run of form and not only are his average ratings excellent, but his goal contributions are leading to points. He came off the bench against Arsenal to get an assist for Pedro Neto’s goal which rescued a point, he got an assist and was Argentina’s highest rated player in the defeat against Paraguay, he was also their third highest rated player in the 1-0 win against Peru.
Then he assisted Jackson and scored in the 2-1 win over Leicester, he scored the second against Villa to make Chelsea comfortable at half-time and it was his corner which lead to Axel Disasi’s opener against Southampton. That made it two goals and seven assists in his last seven appearances and in two of those he played 45 minutes or less! These are the performance levels of one of the best midfielders in the world right now and Chelsea will be delighted with that given his mixed start to the season.
Enzo Fernández may be looked at, by some, as an enigmatic figure but he can get rid of that tag by maintaining his recent form. He’s been key in Chelsea gaining consistency and picking up some excellent wins recently. Enzo Maresca and the fans will be hoping he can sustain this form for as long as possible and, if he can, there can be no more arguments over whether he should be considered world-class.
By: Kai Watson / @KaiGWatson
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Carlos Rodrigues / Getty Images