TL:DR – Jamie Carragher selects Chelsea player as ‘one of the Premier League‘s finest’
- Enzo Fernandez shines in Chelsea’s dramatic 3-2 win over West Ham, scoring his 11th goal of the season.
- Jamie Carragher praises Fernandez as one of the best in the Premier League, highlighting his scoring ability and versatility.
- Manager Liam Rosenior emphasises Fernandez’s importance and skill set, asserting he can play multiple roles effectively.
- Despite Chelsea’s big spending scrutiny, Fernandez’s contributions reaffirm their investment in midfield has paid off.
Jamie Carragher names Chelsea star who is ‘one of the best in the Premier League’ | Football
Enzo Fernandez celebrates a wild win over West Ham at the weekend (Picture: Getty Images)
Chelsea’s big-spending has not always paid off, but in Enzo Fernandez they have one of the best players in the Premier League, believes Jamie Carragher.
The Blues continued their good start to life under new manager Liam Rosenior with a dramatic 3-2 win over West Ham on Saturday.
The Blues conceded the first two goals of the game to their London rivals at Stamford Bridge, but bounced back impressively.
Joao Pedro and Marc Cucrella put the home side level before Fernandez burst into the penalty box in stoppage time to fire home the winner.
The 25-year-old has been in good goal-scoring form this season, with his strike against the Hammers his 11th of the campaign in all competitions.
While the Argentinian was thought to be more of a deep-lying midfielder when signed from Benfica for £106.8m in January 2023, Carragher feels he is flourishing into one of the best in the Premier League by moving further forward.
Speaking on Sky Sports, the Liverpool legend said: ‘Enzo Fernandez gets the winning goal. A lot is spoken about the top midfield players in the Premier League and we speak about his midfield partner [Moises] Caicedo and [Declan] Rice: who’s the best out of the two of them?
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Fernandez and Moises Caicedo have formed an impressive partnership (Picture: Getty Images)
‘There’s no doubt they’re two of the best midfielders in the Premier League, but he is right up there with the best players in the Premier League.
‘He is one of the best box-crashers we see in the Premier League. Permanently getting on the end of things. There’s talk of, is he a holding midfield player? Which is what we were told when he originally came in.
‘I don’t see that, He is a number 8 or a number 10, getting into the box and getting goals. He is one of the top midfield players in the Premier League.
‘A lot of criticism has come at Chelsea for the money that they’ve spent, but when they’ve spent big in the centre of the park, it’s paid off.’
Fernandez has already scored more goals this season than in any other of his career (Picture: Getty Images)
Fernandez was linked with a move to Real Madrid during the January transfer window, but Rosenior has made it very clear that he wants him to remain an integral part of his side in west London.
‘He’s a Chelsea player. He’s very important to me,’ said the manager. ‘I think we’re going to have a really good, hopefully winning relationship in the short term and the long term.”
‘He’s got an extreme skill set, technically he’s outstanding, he covers a lot of ground. He’s a very good athlete. He can finish, he can score, he arrives really well in the box when he plays higher up like a forward-running 8 or a No. 10.
‘What I need to do is find out what the chemistry is around the position. It’s not just him, it’s how other players fit around him.
‘He can play deeper as a 6, which he did really well against Arsenal. He came on against Charlton [at 10] and did really well.
‘I don’t like pigeon-holing players. In my career I’ve used players in different roles.’
After his match-winning strike on Saturday, Rosenior told the BBC: ‘I thought the right person scored the goal, I thought Enzo Fernandez’s performance was absolutely world class. In terms of his energy, in terms of his quality, his bravery to take the ball, the amount of second balls he picked up in midfield. He’s a special player.’
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