If Chelsea owner Todd Boehly is deterred by Benfica's resolve in their stance on coveted playmaker Enzo Fernandez, the opulent American businessman is certainly not showing it.

Having dominated the early stages of the January transfer window with their pursuit of triumphant Argentina's World Cup sensation, Chelsea hit a wall in negotiations after submitting a €85m (£77m) offer, as per Fabrizio Romano, broken into instalments and tied down with clauses, with the Eagles demanding that his £105m release clause be paid upfront in order to allow his departure from the high-flying Portuguese outfit midseason.

But more recent reports state that Blues boss Graham Potter may yet wield the precocious playmaker this season, with Portuguese publication Record, via journalist Simon Phillips, confirming that the intrigue in Fernandez's signature has not been dispelled, and a fresh bid could indeed be forthcoming.

And now, speaking to Football FanCast, transfer specialist Pete O'Rourke has detailed his thoughts on the prospective shift in the market.

He said: "I'm sure talks have still been ongoing. Ever since the initial interest in Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea they've obviously had some bids turned down by Benfica, who want his release clause paid if they are to let the Argentine World Cup winner leave.

"We know Chelsea are in the market for central midfielders such as Moises Caicedo and Fernandez and with Chelsea right now you can't rule anything out with them in the transfer window."

Fabregas 2.0

Benfica top the Liga Portugal and remarkably came first in their UEFA Champions League group containing Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, with Fernandez indeed the centrepiece of all that flows through Roger Schmidt's superb system, a channel from which his teammates will target his presence to progress the play and transition toward the danger zone with perfect precision.

The 22-year-old Fernandez is indeed irreplaceable in this regard, with the prodigy ranking among the top 1% of midfielders for progressive passes, the top 6% for rate of assists and the top 4% for shot-creating actions, as per FBref - illustrating just how important he is for his side's thus far superlative seasonal efforts.

And with a stunning club-best rating of 7.54 in the league this term, as per Sofascore, Fernandez is demonstrating the consistency of performance that will leave him among the world's pre-eminent maestros over the next decade, with his 88% pass success, 1.8 key passes per match and nine big chances created, also offering his defensive capability with 2.4 tackles per match; breaking the play and recycling possession with aplomb.

Should Chelsea make a breakthrough in negotiations, the  "unreal" star - as labelled by Statman Dave, could emulate the success of Cesc Fabregas, who starred for Chelsea at the zenith of his distinguished career following his reported £30m arrival from FC Barcelona in 2014.

Making 198 appearances for the Blues, scoring 22 goals and serving 58 assists, the former Arsenal prodigy was imperative across an illustrious spell for the west London outfit, winning two Premier League titles, the Europa League, the FA Cup and the League Cup.

With Fabregas notably one of the modern era's greatest ball-playing talents, Fernandez would be very wise indeed to copy his positional peer's blueprint and flourish as a new creative force, and what better place to do so than the Spaniard's old stomping ground: Stamford Bridge.

Indeed, throughout his time at the top level, the ex-Arsenal captain was a creative genius, as Fernandez is beginning to be. Fabregas established a pass accuracy of 85%, actually lower than that of the Argentine this term, but his average key passes per match of 2.1 throughout his career are currently better.

Whether the "beast" Fernandez - as dubbed by Ives Galarcep - goes on to emulate his fellow World Cup winner's Premier League career remains to be seen, but with a growing prowess with the ball at his feet, the young ace could yet play a definitive role in the flow of the coming Premier League era, spearheading Chelsea's bid to dictate the turning of the chapter.