Official: Chelsea sign Enzo Fernandez on an Eight and a Half Year Contract

[xceleryx]

8 hours ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

The fact that this guy still has room to learn and improve should be a scary thought for every other team, he is such a talent. I was so impressed with him today!

Said this on the old form, said it just before in the match thread also, but he's such a high quality player and one I wanted us to be looking at in the summer. The fact we've secured him long term, and the effortless nature in which he's slotted into English football is a testament to just how ridiculously good he is. All we need to do now is make sure we maximise his qualities moving forward, a lot of which will hinge on getting that holding type of player alongside so he can get forward more regularly without having to try and balance two jobs. 

[Willian Dollar Baby]

This guy is a special player. One we've been crying out for since Cesc left. I was always a fan of Jorginho but it's clear Enzo has that direct over the top pass in his locker that Cesc used to unleash regularly.  

I would hope that as time goes on players like Sterling and Murdyk will learn how and when to make runs for Enzo which will be lethal to defend against. Then give him a midfield partner who will cover defensively and we will cook. You never know if Kante ever gets fit again it could be this season. 

Edited March 13, 2023 by Willian Dollar Baby

[xceleryx]

8 hours ago, Willian Dollar Baby said:

This guy is a special player. One we've been crying out for since Cesc left. I was always a fan of Jorginho but it's clear Enzo has that direct over the top pass in his locker that Cesc used to unleash regularly.  

I would hope that as time goes on players like Sterling and Murdyk will learn how and when to make runs for Enzo which will be lethal to defend against. Then give him a midfield partner who will cover defensively and we will cook. You never know if Kante ever gets fit again it could be this season. 

Still don't quite get the Jorginho comparisons, other than both being capable of playing deep they've got few similarities in terms of how they play the game or their roles.

Jorginho was, and still is, a much better player when it comes to collecting the ball from the defence and dropping into those deeper spaces. His composure and control in these areas helped relieve a lot of pressure and always provided his teammates an out ball when in need. 

Enzo is far better further up the pitch and progressing the ball with purpose. He's a naturally more creative player that can be more impactful in the attacking half and we've seen that already in such a short span of time. He doesn't quite provide the same outlet as Jorginho offered in those deeper areas. 

Both are good players in their own right, doing two slightly different jobs while having their own strengths and weaknesses.

As I said before hopefully we'll get that holding type of midfielder in next season and let Enzo get that extra freedom higher up the pitch so we can see more of what he's best at. 

[paulw66]

On 13/03/2023 at 14:32, Willian Dollar Baby said:

This guy is a special player.

Yes.

 

[McCreadie]

Does anyone know if Argentina have a tournament this summer? He is going to need some proper time out at the end of the season. Looks the mustard so far.

[CarefreeMuratcan]

9 hours ago, McCreadie said:

Does anyone know if Argentina have a tournament this summer? He is going to need some proper time out at the end of the season. Looks the mustard so far.

Nope. 2024 Copa America. 

[xceleryx]

All while having to play a role that doesn't maximise his ability.

Cannot wait to see him have a proper defensively minded midfield partner so we can see more of Enzo higher up the pitch. 

[Ham]

Gotta love a player who actually reads fan tweets about him 💙

Epic tweet from Andy in the first place 😂

 

 

[paulw66]

Just took 66/1 on Enzo to be Player of the Year. 

Might double dip, as that is spectacular value. 

[Blue_in_TX]

Not Special 

 

Is it me or is Enzo Fernandez all hype.  The guy is a younger Gorginho.  For the money we paid, he can't even run past anyone and plays very basic passes.  Rarely does he play a ball on the ground that splits the lines.   Maybe I am overreacting to the Hammers game but no way is he athletic enough to function in a two man midfield.  

 

We played 4-2-3-1 all preseason and now we have 7 defending outfield players. 

 

[Blue Kratos]

And I thought there wouldn't be any knee jerk reactions.

[Bones]

17 minutes ago, Blue_in_TX said:

Not Special 

 

Is it me or is Enzo Fernandez all hype.  The guy is a younger Gorginho.  For the money we paid, he can't even run past anyone and plays very basic passes.  Rarely does he play a ball on the ground that splits the lines.   Maybe I am overreacting to the Hammers game but no way is he athletic enough to function in a two man midfield.  

 

We played 4-2-3-1 all preseason and now we have 7 defending outfield players. 

 

Yes, it's just you..

[xceleryx]

7 hours ago, Blue_in_TX said:

Not Special 

 

Is it me or is Enzo Fernandez all hype.  The guy is a younger Gorginho.  For the money we paid, he can't even run past anyone and plays very basic passes.  Rarely does he play a ball on the ground that splits the lines.   Maybe I am overreacting to the Hammers game but no way is he athletic enough to function in a two man midfield.  

 

We played 4-2-3-1 all preseason and now we have 7 defending outfield players. 

 

Quite the hill to die on for your first post. 

[kev61]

58 minutes ago, xceleryx said:

Quite the hill to die on for your first post. 

Well that's cobblers.How many times have you died on the forum?

Enzo is good but not that good.

[kev61]

8 hours ago, Bones said:

Yes, it's just you..

Then enlighten us.What does Enzo do that is special? Plenty of platitudes but nothing I see as special.

[kev61]

8 hours ago, Blue_in_TX said:

Not Special 

 

We played 4-2-3-1 all preseason and now we have 7 defending outfield players. 

 

If I hear another 4 -2 -3 -1  or any other formation that 'suits' us I will die another death.

[xceleryx]

2 hours ago, kev61 said:

Well that's cobblers.How many times have you died on the forum?

Enzo is good but not that good.

Not as many as your good self, but then again who's counting. 

Enzo is quality, as I'm sure most others would agree. 

[flllerywhereru2]

1 hour ago, xceleryx said:

Not as many as your good self, but then again who's counting. 

Enzo is quality, as I'm sure most others would agree. 

I would say he has started the season very well the penalty apart.

[ROTG]

2 hours ago, xceleryx said:

Not as many as your good self, but then again who's counting. 

Enzo is quality, as I'm sure most others would agree. 

Have you looked at his stats 2 assists in 24 game, not really outstanding stats, especially when you compare them to Benfica with 4 goals 7 assists in 29 games

 

 

What would you take be on Enzo if he were a Chelsea Academy player with such poor stats?

Just asking

[Mark Kelly]

Just now, ROTG said:

Have you looked at his stats 2 assists in 24 game, not really outstanding stats, especially when you compare them to Benfica with 4 goals 7 assists in 29 games

 

 

What would you take be on Enzo if he were a Chelsea Academy player with such poor stats?

Just asking

His entire Chelsea career so far he's been playing as a holding midfielder , the idea behind Caicedo's signing was for Enzo to get nearer the goal and make more of a difference , lets see what happens , he's already our best player by a massive margin .

[Ham]

10 minutes ago, ROTG said:

Have you looked at his stats 2 assists in 24 game, not really outstanding stats, especially when you compare them to Benfica with 4 goals 7 assists in 29 games

 

 

What would you take be on Enzo if he were a Chelsea Academy player with such poor stats?

Just asking

That has everything to do with wastefulness by our attackers. 

[ROTG]

8 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

His entire Chelsea career so far he's been playing as a holding midfielder , the idea behind Caicedo's signing was for Enzo to get nearer the goal and make more of a difference , lets see what happens , he's already our best player by a massive margin .

Happy to revisit after 18 games

[ROTG]

2 minutes ago, Ham said:

That has everything to do with wastefulness by our attackers. 

not really sure what you mean?

According to the PL stats he has made 4 big chances "whatever that means" 

 

Anyway lets revisit at the halfway point

[xceleryx]

37 minutes ago, ROTG said:

Have you looked at his stats 2 assists in 24 game, not really outstanding stats, especially when you compare them to Benfica with 4 goals 7 assists in 29 games

 

 

What would you take be on Enzo if he were a Chelsea Academy player with such poor stats?

Just asking

You've been pretty quiet when stats showcasing him in elite percentiles across an array of important metrics though, I'll say that much.

As we all know though stats aren't always the be all that ends all either. 

If he was a Chelsea academy product my opinion would be no different, given I pointed out he should be a player we should be watching out for (and sign) while he was at River Plate/had just joined Benfica. His talent has been known for quite some time, and what he does on the football pitch transcends basic goals/assist numbers. 

[ROTG]

20 minutes ago, xceleryx said:

You've been pretty quiet when stats showcasing him in elite percentiles across an array of important metrics though, I'll say that much.

As we all know though stats aren't always the be all that ends all either. 

If he was a Chelsea academy product my opinion would be no different, given I pointed out he should be a player we should be watching out for (and sign) while he was at River Plate/had just joined Benfica. His talent has been known for quite some time, and what he does on the football pitch transcends basic goals/assist numbers. 

Not sure what you mean about elite percentiles, the bottom line is his impact is average game after game and not elite, which you might expect of a £100m player.

Anyway keep the faith