Chelsea are working hard to secure the signing of Enzo Fernandez before the transfer window shuts in just a few hours and now a new update has emerged from a reliable source.

What's the latest?

The Athletic's football correspondent David Ornstein has revealed that there is "heightened optimism" for Chelsea to strike a deal for the Benfica midfielder before the deadline.

Ornstein tweeted this evening: "Sources in Portugal tell @TheAthleticFC there’s now heightened optimism agreement can be struck for Enzo Fernandez to join Chelsea. Benfica have granted permission to do medical in Portugal in case deal struck."

Ending the window with a bang

There is no doubt that the signing of Fernandez would see Chelsea end the window with a bang, especially after the London club let their Italian midfielder Jorginho sign for Arsenal this afternoon.

The deal for the 22-year-old talent has been stuck in a back and forth, with the powerbrokers at Stamford Bridge desperately trying to reach an agreement with Benfica president Rui Costa on the structure of the payment of the £106m release clause.

Chelsea are speculated to have their hands tied in only being able to offer a payment plan with a substantial amount upfront to ensure they stay within the Financial Fair Play regulations after spending over £600m since Todd Boehly became the owner last summer, should Fernandez sign today.

The Argentine powerhouse would be a simply supreme acquisition, with his array of talent having the potential to be game-changing for Chelsa's midfield.

Indeed, he ranks in the top 7% of his positional peers across the top five European leagues over a number of metrics, including shots on goal, assists, shot-creating actions, passes attempted and progressive passes.

It proves that he is one of the hottest young prospects in Europe right now and would be a huge asset to Graham Potter in his pursuit to improve Chelsea's season.

The Blues are currently tenth in the Premier League after 20 outings and are now ten points adrift from a Champions League qualification spot inside the top four, with a number of injuries to key players plaguing their ability to control games.

N'Golo Kante, Christian Pulisic, Raheem Sterling, Denis Zakaria, Ben Chilwell and Reece James are just some of the important presences on the pitch that Potter is unable to call upon at present, so the signing of Fernandez is quite evidently an important deal, one that could see the Blues well and truly end their window with a bang.

With that being said, it now seems like it will just be a matter of time before Fernandez is pictured in the famous Blue shirt and Potter will surely be hoping that January's addition will give the squad enough to climb the table into a much more comfortable position sooner rather than later.