Chelsea exercise options to extend the contracts of Enzo & Mudryk into their 30s

Chelsea have exercised options to extend the contracts of Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk into their 30s, according to a report.

FA documents released as part of their annual agent payment report last week, show that the pair have been beneficiaries of 'updated contracts'.

The Blues signed Fernandez for a then British record £107million fee from Benfica in January 2023 while Mudryk arrived from Shakhtar Donetsk for £88m in the same window.

According to The Standard, Fernandez has eight years left on his £180,000-a-week contract that runs until 2032 when he will be 31. Mudryk's deal has seven years remaining on it, at a cost to the Blues of £97,000-a-week. The Ukrainian will be 30 when it expires in 2031.

It is not known why the Stamford Bridge outfit has decided to exercise extensions in the deals with some much time remaining on them.

Youngster Lewis Hall also had his contract extended last season before he joined Newcastle on an initial season-long loan set to be made permanent this summer.

Chelsea's unique financial situation was again brought into focus last week after the release of agent payments which showed the club had spent a staggering £75.1m on  fees in the 2023-24 campaign.

The figures, covering the period from February 1, 2023 to February 1, 2024, showed how significantly the London club outspent their rivals.

It followed a summer of lavish spending by Chelsea, having signed Moises Caicedo, Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson, Romeo Lavia, Cole Palmer and more in multi-million pound deals.

Their figure of £75.1m was more than all of the clubs in the Championship, League One, League Two and National League added together, which totalled £69.7m collectively.

The Premier League’s overall total was £409.6m, up from