Chelsea's signing of Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for a British transfer record 106.8 million pounds ($A186.4 million) has been their final coup in a remarkable bout of January spending.
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Premier League Chelsea announced the signing on Wednesday morning via a video on Twitter, which showed a clip of a clock ticking down, making a reference to race against time to sign the World Cup winner before Tuesday night's deadline.
It had appeared a deal might not be reached before the 11pm cut-off point but a statement from Benfica confirmed it had been done shortly before the deadline.
It takes Chelsea's transfer spending in January alone to close to 300 million pounds ($A524 million) and to more than 500 million pounds ($A873 million) since last May's takeover by an investment group led by American Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
Boehly has sanctioned more spending in this transfer window than the combined total of all clubs in Europe's other big leagues -- the Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1.
According to media reports, Chelsea will pay the release fee in several instalments -- the number of which became a sticking point for the deal until late on Tuesday.
Benfica signed Fernandez in July 2022 from River Plate, who will also benefit from the deal courtesy of a 25 per cent sell-on clause. Fernandez bagged four goals and seven assists in 29 games in all competitions for Benfica this season.
His fee eclipses the 100 million pounds ($A175 million) Manchester City paid Aston Villa for England midfielder Jack Grealish in 2021.
Fernandez was instrumental in Argentina's World Cup-winning campaign in Qatar, breaking into the starting line-up and playing every game, eventually bagging the tournament's Young Player Award.
Fernandez is Chelsea's eighth recruit in the mid-season transfer window after the London club signed Mykhailo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke, Andrey Santos, David Fofana and Malo Gusto while Joao Felix arrived on loan from Atletico Madrid. All of them are 23 or younger.
To offset the spending, Chelsea also sold experienced midfielder Jorginho to Premier League leaders Arsenal for 12 million pounds ($A21 million).
Questions will be asked about how Chelsea have managed to spend so much money on transfers in light of Financial Fair Play rules.
Yet for under-pressure manager Graham Potter, who's overseeing a side currently in mid-table, it is now about trying to blend in so many new faces and revive their season.
Australian Associated Press
