Deadline-day drama: Chelsea could break EPL record for Fernandez, Arsenal pursuing £70m-Brighton man Caicedo, Cancelo bound for Bayern loan spell

This transfer window has seen English Premier League clubs breaking their bank and spending around £550m, breaking the 2018 record of £430m. The figure could soar on Tuesday, the deadline day, as several clubs are frantically negotiating with players’ agents before the shutters roll on the window.
None are likely to swell the net-spend figures as Chelsea. The London club, under the new owner Todd Boehly and revamping under Graham Potter, has already signed players in the region of £200m on seven new players—Benoit Badiashile (£35m), Andrey Santos (£18m), Joao Felix (loan with £9.7m fee), Noni Madueke (£30.7m) and Mykhailo Mudryk (£62m rising to £89m). They are now on the negotiation table with Benfica to sign Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez, for whom the Portuguese club is demanding an amount in the region of £105 to £115 million, which could be an EPL transfer record . Simultaneously, they are also eyeing Brighton’s Moisés Caicedo, who league toppers Arsenal have been hotly pursuing. The Gunners made an offer of around £70 million, but was rejected, and the cash-loaded Chelsea could cash in. Arsenal, though, could benefit from the Blues’ clear-out and have trained their eyes on Jorginho. But he would not come cheap

Cesare Casadei will spend the rest of the season on loan at Reading.
Good luck, Cesare! 👊 pic.twitter.com/XLKgVZF5zE
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 30, 2023
Should any of the deal materialise, the British transfer record on January’s transfer deadline day could be broken. Chelsea would likely break their own spending spree in 2011, when they signed Spanish striker Fernando Torres for £50m. Like Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur too are pushing for additions in their quest for a Champions League spot. They had a €45m move for Sporting CP right-back Pedro Porro refused last week, but according to transfer-market hound Fabrizio Romano they have finally reached full agreement. “Again after a very long meeting — €45m, payment terms finally approved after Sporting’s change last night Porro will travel to London tomorrow — he only wanted Spurs move,” he tweeted.
There, though, could be a bigger surprise, as Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo could be bound for Bayern Munich for a loan spell that could then result in a 70m euro (£61.5m) move in the summer. The Portuguese has been one of Pep Guardiola’s mainstays and a benchmark for the new breed of play-making full-backs, but in the last month or so his form has digressed and he has been mostly cooling his heels on the bench with rumours of a fallout with Pep Guardiola swirling in the air. But City, who are generally quiet in the January window, are unlikely to search for a last-gasp replacement, as they have back-ups in Nathan Ake and Sergio Gomez.
Manchester City’s head coach Pep Guardiola kneels during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Wolverhampton at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Down the table, Crystal Palace would bolster their midfield with the acquisition of Stuttgart midfielder Naouirou Ahamada for £9.7m while Nottingham Forest are in talks with Newcastle midfielder Jonjo Shelvey. Should that materialise, it could be the club’s 26th signing of the season. Three of them were signed in January— Brazilian midfielders Danilo and Gustavo Scarpa, and forward Chris Wood—as they are keen on retaining their Premier League stature. They are supposedly in talks with wantaway Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who reportedly wants a move to the Premier League.
As the battle for survival heats up, Leeds United have managed a loan deal for Weston McKennie from Juventus. They are apparently negotiating with AS Roma forward Nicolo Zaniolo as well.
Late, shock moves
As is often the case there could be plenty of late shock moves too—Leicester City’s midfield general Youri Tielemans, whose contract ends this May, has several admirers, and the Foxes would rather rake in some moolah that let him depart for free. Manchester United have been long-time admirers and Chrian Eriksen’s injury could make them push for a late interest in the Belgian. But it is likelier that United would settle for a short-fix, loan deal rather than purchasing Tielemans.

Elsewhere, Barcelona are pushing to loan-in World Cup star Sofyan Amrabat from Fiorentina while the ever free-spending PSG are eyeing Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech and Inter’s defender Milan Skriniar