ALL'S WELL THAT ENZ WELL

Fernandez has Maresca to thank for his Blues revival

- BY KEITH WEBSTER

CHELSEA fans have learnt to be unshockable in the 21st century.

After all, Roman Abramovich landed as owner in 2003 and transformed them from contenders to champions.

Jose Mourinho arrived the following year and announced himself as ‘The Special One’ — then backed it up with trophies.

In 2012, they even managed to win the Champions League. On penalties. With an interim manager, who they sacked six months later.

So, in January 2023, perhaps there were fewer eyebrows raised in surprise around Stamford Bridge than there were across the rest of the country when Chelsea's new owner, Todd Boehly, dug deep to pay a British record £106.8m for midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Benfica.

Just a month earlier, the Argentina star had helped his country lift the World Cup in Qatar. The early signs in West London were less than promising, though.