Wolves could trigger the £18 million release clause in Enzo Fernandez’s contract this week while offering the River Plate star the chance to move to the Premier League, as reported by Ole.
Well, who saw this coming? Talk about a bolt from the proverbial blue.
With Joao Palhinha on his way to Fulham, it looked for all the world that Wolverhampton Wanderers would go all out for his Sporting Lisbon team-mate Matheus Nunes instead. In fact, up until Tuesday morning, there was nothing to suggest that 21-year-old Enzo Fernandez could be on his way to Molineux.
It’s fair to say that has changed.
According to Ole, Wolves chief scout and head of player recruitment, Mathew Hobbs, will arrive at the River Plate offices this week to hold face-to-face talks regarding one of the most highly-rated footballers in South America.
Wolverhampton Wanderers are expected to trigger the £18 million release clause in Fernandez’s contract. The all-action enforcer was expected to wait until the end of the Argentinian league season – in December – before embarking upon a trip across the Atlantic. Wolves’ sudden interest, however, appears to have sped up the process, with a summer departure now increasingly likely.
A Bola back up those claims. They add that Wolves should still face competition from Borussia Dortmund and Serie A champions AC Milan.
Fernandez is reportedly on the radar of Everton, West Ham, Aston Villa, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur too, according to El Crack Deportivo.
Wolves close in on River Plate’s Enzo Fernandez
“Enzo Fernandez is the best Argentine soccer player,” says Coco Basile, a two-time Copa America winner who also worked as a technical director for the Argentine national team.
“Enzo Fernandez is coming from a period at River Plate where they have won everything,” adds former Albiceleste ace Dario Felman. “When you have a good team that also means that you have some good individuals.
“Fernandez has technical ability. But what he needs is to learn more about collective sacrifice, which he will find in European football. Once he has learned to combine the two, he could play for any team in Europe, like Arsenal and Tottenham.
“He really is that good, in terms of potential.”
A dynamic, ball-carrying colossus, Fernandez already appears to be the ‘complete midfielder’. And, with Sporting demanding £51 million for Matheus Nunes, Fernandez at £18 million certainly feels like a bargain in comparison.
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