Enzo Fernandez is a big fan of Declan Rice and wants to learn from him (Picture: Getty)

Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez has revealed he ‘likes’ Declan Rice and has tried to ‘learn’ from the West Ham star after watching him in action.

The Blues recently smashed the British transfer record to sign Argentina’s World Cup winning midfielder Fernandez in the January transfer window from Benfica in a deal worth a whopping £106.8m, which Chelsea confirmed on Wednesday.

Chelsea have now spent around £600m on players in the Todd Boehly era after the American took over from previous owner Roman Abramovich in the summer but the club are struggling on the pitch and are ninth in the Premier League table.

Another midfielder Chelsea have been strongly linked to in the past is England international Rice – who is also wanted by Arsenal and Liverpool – and a clip featuring Fernandez speaking about the West Ham star has recently gone viral.

The video is from an interview which seems to have taken place during the World Cup in Qatar but appeared to spike in popularity this weekend as Fernandez said in the snippet: ‘I try to watch as much football and learn a little from everyone.

‘I like [Declan] Rice of England, I try to watch him and learn.’

If Chelsea are to revive their long-term interest in Rice and beat off competition from Arsenal and Liverpool, they must once again splash the clash and offer West Ham a huge fee which would be higher the £106.8m they spent on Fernandez.

That’s according to West Ham boss David Moyes, who was recently quizzed about Rice’s future and said: ‘He’ll be a British transfer record if he ever leaves.

‘There’s a lot of talk about it and when you see what’s going about for the prices, I think Dec will be blowing that out of the water, that’s for sure, when it comes around.’

Rice has less than 18 months left on his current contact and is likely to move clubs in the summer transfer window.

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‘I try to watch him and learn!’