‘Nice boy' Enzo Fernandez ‘will be even better next season'
'Nice boy' Enzo Fernandez 'will be even better next season' – Maresca
Enzo Fernandez has been backed to get even better next season by Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca as he prepares to face former club Benfica.
The 24-year-old midfielder struggled to match the £106.8 million transfer fee the Blues shelled out to buy him from the Portuguese outfit in January 2023, putting in a series of underwhelming performances in his first two years at Stamford Bridge.
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But Fernandez was arguably Chelsea's best player in the back half of the 2024/25 term, finishing the campaign with eight goals as the team won the Uefa Conference League and qualified for next season's Champions League.
The Argentina international has taken his good form to the FIFA Club World Cup, where he scored the opener against LAFC and created two goals against Esperance in their final group game. His 11 goal involvements (4G, 7A) are more than any other Premier League player combined since the end of April.
Fernandez will be reunited with Benfica in the round of 16 as Chelsea bid to win more silverware.
Read – Stat shows growing Enzo Fernandez importance at Chelsea
Maresca: Enzo Fernandez 'will be even better next season'
'I'm very pleased with Enzo, especially because, first of all, he's a nice boy. He's polite, he's a good boy,' Maresca said in his pre-match press conference.
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'Then he's worked very well in all aspects inside the pitch, outside the pitch. Our struggle at the beginning was (for him) to understand the way we want to play.
'But he is doing fantastic in terms of numbers, goal assists. This is what we want from our attacking players.
'I've said many times that I prefer to have the attacking players score 10-12 goal each, rather than just a striker with 40 goals.
'So his contribution this season has been top and I am sure next season will be even better.'
Fernandez was linked with a move to Real Madrid in May, but Maresca dismissed the possibility of a deal at the time.
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The former River Plate star was at the centre of a controversy after he filmed the Argentina national team singing a derogatory chant about France striker Kylian Mbappe after winning the Copa America last summer. Chelsea released a statement condemning the 'racist and discriminatory' song and instigated an internal disciplinary procedure against Fernandez.
Read – Newcastle and Brighton in transfer 'talks' as £50m bid for Chelsea target rejected
See Also – Chelsea boss reveals transfer stance on defensive duo amid exit speculation
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