Chelsea pay record fee for Fernandez as Cancelo joins Bayern

Chelsea paid a Premier League record fee of €121 million (£106.8 million) to sign Enzo Fernandez as Joao Cancelo made a surprise move to Bayern Munich and Jorginho joined Arsenal on a frantic transfer deadline day in Europe.

LIVE | Premier League: Transfer window deadline day

Premier League clubs have once again massively outspent their rivals in a desperate scramble to strengthen their squads for the second half of the season.

Graham Potter's struggling Chelsea went on a staggering spending spree in January, bringing in a clutch of players including Mykhaylo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke and Joao Felix, who joined on loan from Atletico Madrid.

World Cup winner Fernandez, whose transfer was announced by Portuguese club Benfica in the early hours of Wednesday, is Chelsea's eighth signing of the January window.

The £106.8 million fee eclipses the previous record of £100 million that Manchester City paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish in 2021.

Fernandez, named Best Young Player of the World Cup for his displays during Argentina's successful campaign in Qatar, only joined Portuguese giants Benfica in July last year, for a reported fee of around £10 million.

The 22-year-old is understood to have signed an eight-and-half-year deal that will run until 2031.

Todd Boehly's consortium has spent hundreds of millions since buying Chelsea at the end of last season but the club are languishing in 10th place in the Premier League.

Cancelo joins Bayern

Bayern Munich signed Manchester City wing-back Cancelo on loan until the end of the season and have an option to buy him for a reported €70 million.

The 28-year-old Portuguese defender joined City from Juventus in 2019 but has been a peripheral figure in Pep Guardiola's team since the World