Enzo Fernandez has been praised for his role with the younger Chelsea players.placeholder image
Enzo Fernandez has been praised for his role with the younger Chelsea players. | Getty Images
Facundo Buonanotte and Alejandro Garnacho have been helped to settle in at Chelsea by one star in particular.
Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez has been commended by his teammate Facundo Buonanotte for going above and beyond to help new arrivals settle into life at Stamford Bridge.
Buonanotte is on loan with Chelsea for the season from Brighton, recruited for his versatility across the front three following a stint at Leicester City last term. The 20-year-old has been eased into action by Enzo Maresca with just 45 minutes in the Premier League so far.
He has seen minutes in the Champions League and against Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup, where he scored his first goal for Chelsea. Buonanotte was an unused substitute against Liverpool.
Buonanotte praises Chelsea teammate
The attacking midfielder is one of several signings made by Chelsea this summer, many of whom are still young players. Alejandro Garnacho was signed from Manchester United in a high profile transfer and is just 21 years old with Jamie Gittens, Willian Estevao and Jorrel Hato aged 20, 18 and 19 respectively.
Speaking to DSports Radio, Buonanotte has opened up on his transition to Chelsea and credited one teammate in particular for helping him. He said: "Enzo was the first to write to me when my arrival at the club was confirmed. I was very grateful. That tells you what a good person he is.
“I don’t need to say anything about what he’s like on the pitch, because he’s a wonderful player and everyone can see that, but on top of that, he's a great person. He is always trying to help Garnacho, me, and everyone else. Enzo is a fundamental pillar here. He is our captain. I am very happy to share so many moments with him and learn from him every day."
Fernandez labelled ‘very important’ by Enzo Maresca
Chelsea paid a then British record transfer fee of £107 million to sign Enzo in January 2023 and he has gone on to make 125 appearances for the club. The midfielder has become a vital part of Maresca’s team and has three goals and an assist already this season.
Enzo appears to be proving worth his lofty transfer price not only through his influential performances on the pitch but the work behind the scenes. Last month, Maresca hailed the player as ‘very important’ for Chelsea.
He said: “Enzo can play in different positions for us, he can play as a six or as an attacking midfielder. We have used him in 90 per cent of our games as an attacking midfielder, and I think he is very good in this position. But it depends a little bit on what we think of the game plan. Enzo, for us, is an important player and we try to use him as much as we can.
“The reason why he can have good or bad moments is because of the number of games. For any player, it’s impossible to think that you can play 45 games – or the 64 games we played last season – all at the same level. It’s normal that you drop in some games, but we are very happy with Enzo.”
In other news, Chelsea set sights on 25-year-old labelled 'one of the best' in Europe in his position.
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