Chelsea’s pursuit of Benfica and Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernández is “off” for now but is “one to watch” as Graham Potter looks to strengthen his squad at Stamford Bridge, CBS reporter Ben Jacobs has told GiveMeSport.

The former Brighton and Hove Albion head coach is looking to put his own stamp on his Blues side this month.

Chelsea transfer news – Enzo Fernández

Benfica head coach Roger Schmidt has revealed that Fernández is now back in training with the Portuguese giants, after being left out of the squad for the side’s 1-0 victory over Portimonense last Friday.

However, club president Rui Costa has insisted that any club looking to strike a deal for the 21-year-old midfielder will have to pay the €120m release clause (around £105m) in the Argentine’s contract.

At the time of writing, it looks like any deal between Chelsea and Benfica is off, with journalist César Luis Merlo reporting that negotiations between the clubs had broken down after the Portuguese side wanted the Blues to pay the former River Plate man’s release clause in one instalment, having had a staggered £112m offer turned down last week.

Jacobs has recently told GiveMeSport that Fernández, who has been described as a “game-changer” by journalist Roy Nemer, is frustrated that a move to Stamford Bridge hasn’t materialised after agreeing on personal terms with the Premier League side.

And the journalist believes that a deal between the two clubs could still be reached, but the transfer is off for the time being.

What has Jacobs said about Chelsea and Fernández?

Jacobs told GiveMeSport: “We're in a position where, for now, Benfica are back to saying it's the release clause or nothing. Chelsea will not trigger the release clause.

“When a club says that, they can be genuine, which means the deal is off. Or they can be saying that to try and bait the buyer into increasing their offer and getting somewhere closer to that.

“It's one to watch in the sense that Chelsea love the player and wanted to move to try and beat their rivals to his signature. But for now, there are no talks between the parties. It's off at the time of recording.”

Will Fernández sign for Chelsea?

With Jorginho and N’Golo Kanté both in the last six months of their contract with the west London side, it looks as though Chelsea could look to make midfield additions in both the winter and summer transfer windows of 2023.

Having just come back from winning the World Cup, Fernández will no doubt be one of the hottest prospects for top European sides over the coming months, and the Blues will be hoping that their interest this month has encouraged the 110-game star to make the move to Stamford Bridge when the opportunity arises.

However, the World Cup’s Young Player of the Tournament is likely to have multiple suitors and Chelsea may feel that their best chance of securing Fernández’s signature was by beating their rivals to a move this month.

You can find all of the latest football news and rumours right here.