Chelsea have reportedly activated an extension clause in the contract of midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
The West Londoners forked out a British transfer record fee of £106.8m to lure the 22-year-old midfielder from Benfica to Stamford Bridge in January.
Fernandez had only been at Benfica for six months following a £12m switch from River Plate last summer, but he opted to make the big-money move to Chelsea and put pen to paper on a mega eight-and-a-half-year deal.
Less than four months into his spell with Chelsea, journalist Cesar Luis Merlo claims that the Premier League giants have now decided to activate an option to extend his existing deal by a further 12 months to the summer of 2032.
Fernandez now boasts the longest-running contract at Stamford Bridge, moving slightly ahead of fellow big-money January addition Mykhaylo Mudryk who has a deal with the Blues until 2031.
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Since arriving in West London, Fernandez has quickly established himself as a first-team regular at Chelsea, starting in all 13 games across the Premier League and Champions League and completing the full 90 minutes on 11 of those occasions.
Prior to his January transfer, Fernandez was one of the breakout stars at the 2022 World Cup for winners Argentina and was named the Young Player of the Tournament in Qatar.
Fernandez has already made a quick impression under interim boss Frank Lampard, who has hailed the midfielder's leadership qualities.
"Chelsea brought in some younger players throughout this season. We had to give them a chance at developing into the leaders we want them to be," Lampard told reporters, as quoted by GOAL, after the 2-0 Champions League defeat to Real Madrid on Wednesday.
"Enzo is becoming a leader, but he's 22, I think it's quite difficult for us to talk about that, he'll have to find his way.
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"Games like tonight are a great chance to perform and show the personality that makes you a proper leader."
In response to Lampard's praise, Fernandez added: "I always dream to be a leader because when I started, I always wanted to be an example.
"To be defined like that so young makes me really proud. I always give my best and try to be an example for everyone."
Fernandez's instant impact at Stamford Bridge is proving to be one of few positives to take from Chelsea's season to date, with the West Londoners currently languishing in 11th place in the Premier League table and are in serious risk of failing to qualify for Europe, sitting 17 points behind the top four and seven points behind the top seven.
Meanwhile, Chelsea confirmed earlier this week that left-back Ben Chilwell has penned fresh terms on a new contract, while talks are believed to be ongoing over a new deal for midfielder N'Golo Kante who is out of contract in June.
Oliver Thomas
