Revealed: What Messi thinks about Argentina teammate and Chelsea's new signing Enzo Fernandez

Chelsea shattered all records to sign Enzo Fernandez from Benfica on the transfer deadline day for 121 million euros, sparking massive excitement among fans of the west London club. 

The 22-year-old midfield sensation joined the Blues six weeks after helping Argentina lift the Qatar World Cup 2022 alongside legendary forward Lionel Messi, and also bagged the young player of the tournament. 

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Hence, Chelsea supporters will be eager to know what the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star thinks of his compatriot and if they have the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner's seal of approval.

In a high-profile saga, Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly and club officials attempted to negotiate a deal with Benfica for much of the January transfer season before finally caving into their exorbitant expectations with two hours left on deadline day.

A player who fetches that kind of transfer cost typically requires no introduction. However, the former River Plate prodigy was hardly known to most Blues fans before Boehly and Co.'s frantic pursuit. Although many experts have lauded Fernandez's abilities, Messi's opinion of him may be the most important one.

"I'm not surprised by Enzo," Messi had declared during World Cup 2022 in Qatar. "I know him, and I see him train every day. He deserves [the acclaim] because he's a spectacular kid and very important player for us."

After his goal and assist as a substitute during Argentina's crucial 2-0 victory over Mexico in November, Fernandez started to get praise in Qatar. After losing to Saudi Arabia in their opening group match without the young player in their starting XI, Lionel Scaloni's team immediately benefited from Fernandez's presence, and he established himself as a starter for the duration of the competition.

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"I’m very happy for him and for us, because the goal he scored gave us peace of mind in the game. We didn’t expect to start the World Cup with a loss, so we wanted to turn the situation around. Enzo’s great goal ended the game and now we can face the game against Poland in a different way," Messi had said after Argentina's win against Mexico during the showpiece event.

The former Benfica star played 120 minutes of Argentina's nail-biting penalty shootout victory over France after the two teams' dramatic final match ended in a 3-3 draw after extra time. 

This victory marked Argentina's first major victory since 1986. Now that he is back on solid ground, Fernandez must work with struggling manager Graham Potter to lead Chelsea to the top of the club football league.

Fernandez has a lot of responsibility on his young shoulders to perform well at Stamford Bridge because the 10th-placed Blues tried for weeks to negotiate Benfica's asking price down before finally caving into the Argentinean sensation's huge release clause. 

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Boehly and his colleague co-owner Behdad Eghbali are at least confident that their new No. 5 will significantly influence West London.

"In Enzo we are signing a World Cup winner and one of the brightest talents in global football," they declared in a joint statement. "We are excited to add him to Graham's squad and we are sure he will form an important part of our team going forward. Enzo has demonstrated his ability at the very highest levels so we're looking forward to seeing what he will do in Chelsea blue!"