Marc Cucurella says he was completely unaware of Chelsea team-mate Enzo Fernandez at the start of the World Cup and had to Google him after being impressed by his performances for Argentina.
The 22-year-old had not started for his nation prior to the tournament in Qatar and began on the bench for the side’s shock opening group game defeat to Saudi Arabia.
But he started the subsequent six matches and became a key player en route to Argentina’s World Cup win providing bite and tenacity off the ball, as well as composure and vision on it.
His performances in Qatar, coupled with his fine form for Benfica, saw Fernandez become the most expensive player in Premier League history when Chelsea agreed to pay £106.8million on deadline day.
That transfer marked a truly remarkable rise for the midfielder, who had been uncapped by his nation and still playing for River Plate just six months previous.
Fernandez’s rapid ascent from the Argentinian league to becoming the Premier League’s record signing even caught new team-mate Cucurella off guard, with the Spaniard having never heard of the midfielder prior to his breakout World Cup campaign.
The former Brighton defender had been keen to see how his old team-mate Alexis Mac Allister got on in Qatar and tuned in to watch Argentina’s matches only to be blown away by Fernandez – though he had no idea who he was at the time and had to whip out his phone and search him.
‘I liked to watch matches in which my friends were playing, so I was watching Argentina because of Alexis,’ Cucurella told the South American edition of ESPN’s Sports Center.
‘I think I said, “I really like number 24, he’s very good!” But I didn’t even know where he played! I had to go and search on my phone!
‘As I watched more games, I told my family and friends that I really liked him a lot. And then he came to Chelsea!
‘I told Enzo that I had liked him at the World Cup. He’s a good guy, I’m waiting for him to cook me a barbeque.
‘He is very young, but he is very talented with the ball and he is intelligent. He’s still adapting but he’s already played some good games. We have [signed] a great midfielder.’
Fernandez has become an instant fans’ favourite at Chelsea, dictating the tempo and rhythm of matches with his vast array of passing as well as being a tough-tackling, all-action presence out of possession.
MORE : Chelsea target Fulham midfielder Andreas Pereira as potential Mason Mount replacement
MORE : Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrates with Barcelona players after Real Madrid win at Camp Nou
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
var notifyQ = function () { var i = 0, l = awaitingReady.length; for (i = 0; i < l; i++) { awaitingReady[i](); } }; var ready = function (cb) { if (fbApiInit) { cb(); } else { awaitingReady.push(cb); } }; var checkLoaded = function () { return fbApiInit; }; window.fbAsyncInit = function () { FB.init({ appId: '176908729004638', xfbml: true, version: 'v2.10' }); fbApiInit = true; notifyQ(); }; return { 'ready' : ready, 'loaded' : checkLoaded }; })(); (function () { function injectFBSDK() { if ( window.fbApi && window.fbApi.loaded() ) return; var d = document, s="script", id = 'facebook-jssdk'; var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) { return; } js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.async = true; js.src = "https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); } if (window.metro) { window.addEventListener('scroll', injectFBSDK, {once: true, passive: true}); } else { window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', injectFBSDK, {once: true}); } })();
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
