Chelsea owners explain for first time why they spent £106m on Enzo Fernandez

Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have explained for the first time why they broke the British transfer record to sign Enzo Fernandez.

The 22-year-old World Cup winner was on Wednesday finally confirmed as the Blues' new £106.8m signing - breaking both the club and national transfer record in the process.

Standard Sport understands both Boehly and Eghbali first decided to sign Fernandez after seeing him in the flesh in Qatar, embarking on weeks of tough negotiations with Benfica before an agreement with just minutes of the January transfer window to go.

Fernandez in his first interview as a Chelsea player acknowledged the huge sum spent to bring him to Stamford Bridge, and now those who are in charge of the piggy bank have explained why they did it.

"In Enzo we are signing a World Cup-winner and one of the brightest talents in global football," Boehly and Eghbali explained in a joint statement.

"We are excited to add him to Graham’s [Potter, manager] squad and we are sure he will form an important part of our team going forward.

"Enzo has demonstrated his ability at the very highest levels so we’re looking forward to seeing what he will do in Chelsea blue!"

Fernandez could make his debut against Fulham on Friday evening.