EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea see Ibrahima Bamba as Enzo Fernandez alternative

Jacque Talbot

• 31 Jan 2023 15:08 GMT
• 3 min read

Exclusive

Chelsea are exploring a move for Ibrahima Bamba if they fail to get a club-record deal for Enzo Fernandez, FootballTransfers can reveal.

The Blues look set to sign the Benfica midfielder but the deal must be signed off by the club’s president Rui Costa if they are to bring him in.

The Blues have made an offer worth €120 million but it’s not clear yet whether the Portuguese side will agree to the move.

READ MORE: Who is Ibrahima Bamba? The Vitoria wonderkid Arsenal were targeting

We hear that the Blues will turn to Primeira Liga youngster Bamba should the move falter.

The 20-year-old Vitoria de Guimaraes midfielder had been linked to Arsenal earlier in the window - with his agent spotted in London.

“It is true that I was in London. But I'm just arriving from Germany, where I was watching Tapsoba’s game [for Bayer Leverkusen],” he said. “Bamba is not the only player I work with. [Bamba] is a player who is clearly of interest to many clubs.

Sources close to Chelsea have informed us that the west London side will move for the Italian midfielder should a deal collapse with Fernandez.

Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez situation

Even though Chelsea have gone over Fernandez’s release clause, that will only be triggered if the side are willing to pay that amount in a lump sum upfront.

They have so far resisted doing so - and their offer to Benfica is in instalments.

It’s thought that Chelsea are looking to make one large payment followed by five smaller instalments for the player.

Should this deal get done, it would push Chelsea’s transfer spending since the summer beyond the £500m mark – which would be the highest-ever.

The club have so far signed Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk, Benoit Badiashile from Monaco, Malo Gusto from Lyon and David Datro Fofana- while Joao Felix has joined on loan from Atletico Madrid.