Chelsea, with the possible debut of Enzo Fernández, receives Fulham at the start of the Premier appointment

A few hours after landing in London, Enzo Fernández can debut this Friday in Premier League. If all goes as the leaders of Chelsea, a club that paid 121 million euros for his fee, the Argentine national team player will wear the number five blue shirt for the match against Fulham at Stamford Bridge, valid for the 22nd day of the tournament. The duel will begin at 5:00 pm and will be broadcast on ESPN and Star+.

“I can’t wait to play in front of our fans and help my team-mates on and off the pitch”, enthused the midfielder in his first public performance in the English capital, where he arrived on Wednesday afternoon. Your wish could come true on Friday if the bureaucracy allows. “We have to sort out the paperwork and get the green light, so we’ll see,” team coach Graham Potter explained on Thursday during a press conference where he was “very happy with the transfer of Enzo Fernández because he’s a fantastic player.”

To think of seeing the former River, Defensa y Justicia and Benfica footballer on the field of Stamford Bridge just 48 hours after joining the team is not unreasonable. Three weeks ago, again in a match against Fulham that Chelsea lost 2-1 away, the Portuguese made his debut gioao felixwhich had been loaned by Atletico Madrid just one day before.

The DT’s intention to have Fernández as soon as possible does not only respond to a wish, but also to a need, given that these days he no longer has central midfielders due to the injuries of the Frenchman N’Golo Kante and the Croatian Mateo Kovacic , and the departure of Italian Jorginho to Arsenal.

The best youngster at the World Cup in Qatar is not the only one who could represent the Blues: I am also able to do ukrainian Mykhailo Mudrykarrived from Shakhtar Donetsk in exchange for 100 million euros, and the left-handed Noni Madueke, just 20 years old, for which the club paid 34 million to the Dutch PSV Eindhoven. If all three play, they will be the 14th, 15th and 16th Chelsea debutants this season, a club record (up from 15 in the 2017/18 season).

This is possible because since then Todd Boehley became its owner, the institution launched into a headlong rush to renovate its campus without much cost qualms. In this mid-season transfer market, Chelsea have shelled out €365m to sign eight players, more than all clubs in Spain, Italy, Germany and France combined. And since Boehly’s arrival, the investment has been 680 million, more than any other club in the world. Enzo Fernández’s pass, who set a Premier League record, was the crowning glory.

With so much spending on their shoulders, the team has not yet given any answers: they are 10th in the Premier League, 21 points behind leaders Arsenal; They were eliminated in the third round of the FA Cup by Manchester City with a humiliating 4-0 and also fell by the wayside in the last 16 of the League Cup at the hands of Josep Guardiola’s side. The only trophy for which he is still in contention is the Champions League: he will face Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16.

Before focusing on the duel against the Teutons (the first leg will be on 15 February in Germany), Chelsea will have to face the West London derby this Friday against Fulham, seventh in the standings Premier League, but have lost their last two games (against Tottenham and Newcastle). Although the title is a chimera, the Blues They aim to qualify for the next edition of the Champions League. Today they are 10 points behind Manchester United, who occupy fourth place, the last one that guarantees a ticket to the main club tournament in Europe.