Chelsea’s big-spending has not at all times paid off, but in Enzo Fernandez they’ve the most effective players within the Premier League, believes Jamie Carragher.
The Blues continued their good begin to life under latest manager Liam Rosenior with a dramatic 3-2 win over West Ham on Saturday.
The Blues conceded the primary two goals of the sport to their London rivals at Stamford Bridge, but bounced back impressively.
Joao Pedro and Marc Cucrella put the house side level before Fernandez burst into the penalty box in stoppage time to fireside home the winner.
The 25-year-old has been in good goal-scoring form this season, together with his strike against the Hammers his eleventh of the campaign in all competitions.
While the Argentinian was regarded as more of a deep-lying midfielder when signed from Benfica for £106.8m in January 2023, but Carragher feels he’s flourishing into the most effective within the Premier League by moving further forward.
Speaking on Sky Sports, the Liverpool legend said: ‘Enzo Fernandez gets the winning goal. So much is spoken concerning the top midfield players within the Premier League and we talk about his midfield partner [Moises] Caicedo and [Declan] Rice: who’s the very best out of the 2 of them?
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‘There’s little doubt they’re two of the very best midfielders within the Premier League, but he is true up there with the very best players within the Premier League.
‘He’s the most effective box-crashers we see within the Premier League. Permanently getting on the tip of things. There’s talk of, is he a holding midfield player? Which is what we were told when he originally got here in.
‘I don’t see that, He’s a number 8 or a number 10, moving into the box and getting goals. He’s one in every of the highest midfield players within the Premier League
‘A number of criticism has come at Chelsea for the cash that they’ve spent, but once they’ve spent big within the centre of the park, it’s paid off.’
Fernandez was linked with a move to Real Madrid through the January transfer window, but Rosenior has made it very clear that he wants him to stay an integral a part of his side in west London.
‘He’s a Chelsea player. He’s very necessary to me,’ said the manager. ‘I believe we’re going to have a extremely good, hopefully winning relationship within the short term and the long run.”
‘He’s got an extreme skill set, technically he’s outstanding, he covers plenty of ground. He’s a excellent athlete. He can finish, he can rating, he arrives very well within the box when he plays higher up like a forward-running 8 or a No. 10.
‘What I would like to do is use out what the chemistry is across the position. It’s not only him, it’s how other players fit around him.
‘He can play deeper as a 6, which he did very well against Arsenal. He got here on against Charlton [at 10] and did very well.
‘I don’t like pigeon-holing players. In my profession I’ve used players in several roles.’
After his match-winning strike on Saturday, Rosenior told the BBC: ‘I assumed the suitable person scored the goal, I assumed Enzo Fernandez’s performance was absolutely world class. When it comes to his energy, by way of his quality, his bravery to take the ball, the quantity of second balls he picked up in midfield. He’s a special player.’
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