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’.

https://breakingthelines.com/player-analysis/can-pedro-neto-shake-off-the-injury-prone-label-at-chelsea/

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.