Enzo Fernandez has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the last year ahead of Chelsea’s £112million transfer

Enzo Fernandez’s past 12 months have been a whirlwind one that almost any young footballer can only dream of.

At the start of 2022, Fernandez found his feet at elite Argentine club River Plate and was looking forward to building an already promising career.

A year later, he’s now a Benfica star on the verge of joining Chelsea in a £112million move. It comes just weeks after winning the World Cup with Argentina after being named Best Young Player by FIFA in Qatar.

Enzo Fernandez is close to making the move from Benfica to Chelsea in a sensational £112m transfer

Fernandez kisses the World Cup trophy after helping Argentina win the tournament in Qatar

Even if the 21-year-old had faith in his own ability to eventually tick all those boxes, it’s doubtful he could have ticked them in a year.

Chelsea are caught in World Cup fever and ready to take the plunge on the central midfielder after offering to pay the fee in three annual £37.3million installments.

The Blues are so desperate to get the Benfica star into the Premier League – the final fee is £6m over his current release clause in his contract.

Graham Potter is now keen to land the creative midfielder for Chelsea in January

But what can Blues fans expect in return for the superstar Graham Potter will hope can help kick-start a stuttering campaign for the west London side as they seek to rebuild a side in his image.

Fernandez always seemed destined for a career in football ever since his football-loving father named him after Uruguayan legend Enzo Francescoli.

It’s likely that it wasn’t long before he had a football between his feet after taking his first steps and was already on the River Plate books in 2006 at the age of five.

Rising through the ranks and turning professional in 2019 at the age of 18, he had little experience in reserves before manager Marcelo Gallardo called him up to the first-team and gave him his debut in 2020.

Enzo Francescoli (right) was a Uruguay star and plays against England in 1995

Fernandez soon made headlines on loan from River Plate in Argentina

A loan move to Defensa y Justicia, managed by former Chelsea striker Hernan Crespo, followed – and gave him a chance to really kick-start his senior career.

He started slowly but quickly found his footing under the tutelage of the former Argentina international and – just 14 games later – won his first career medal in the 2020 Copa Sudamericana – South America’s equivalent of the Europa League.

With his reputation improved, he returned ready to join River Plater and just 40 games and a title win later, he joined Benfica in a £10million move last summer.

At that point, he had yet to be crowned by Argentina, although the 21-year-old was already on the senior team’s radar after being called up by Lionel Scaloni for the World Cup qualifiers against Brazil and Uruguay in November 2021.

Hernan Crespo helped the midfielder break into professional football with Defensa

Crespo also has ties to Chelsea and helped the club win the Premier League in 2006 (above).

However, Scaloni couldn’t ignore him for too long.

After earning legendary striker Eusebio’s famous No 13 shirt, he didn’t let himself be pressured, scoring on his debut with a half-volley outside the box in a Champions League qualifier against Midtjylland – before going into the next two hit games for the club.

From August to October he was named midfielder of the month in the Portuguese top flight. It was during this period that he made his international debut at the end of September after coming on for Leandro Paredes in a 3-0 friendly win against Honduras.

Fernandez started the World Cup on the bench after Argentina lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia but he soon made an impression in the next game against Mexico, coming on as a substitute and scoring his first international goal in a 2-0 win.

After his loan, Fernandez soon joined River Plate before joining Benfica

He came off the bench at the World Cup, scoring against Mexico and securing his place in the starting XI

It earned him a spot in Scaloni’s starting XI in central midfield – a spot he never gave up and one he found so crucial that his performances were rewarded with the Young Player of the World Cup gong after winning his country helped win the competition for the first time since 1986.

He has been celebrating since missing Benfica training on New Year’s Eve after he was photographed partying in Argentina, leading to injured Benfica fans telling him to “go to hell” and urging the club to hand him over to Chelsea for sale.

In his own words, Fernandez admits he’s a fan of Frenkie De Jong’s game, saying in 2020: “From the outside, I like Leandro Paredes and Frankie De Jong, who does everything well: he arrives in the area and can play in every position in the middle.’

His subsequent performances in Qatar earned him the Young Player of the Tournament Award

Fernandez admits he admires his central midfielder Frenkie de Jong (left) a lot.

That sort of ability will appeal greatly to Potter, who is looking to infuse his midfield with youthful energy, and Fernandez is known for finding a creative pass and playing it quickly as well as winning the ball.

While more comfortable in a deeper role, he can also play higher up in midfield and looks ideal for the Premier League given how comfortable he is with his opponents’ pressing play.

He has only played 14 games for Benfica but given his rapid rise over the past year, even £112m could be a bargain price for the midfielder if the Blues are allowed to reach their full potential.