Fernandez, 21, was the subject of intense interest from Chelsea who were prepared to pay over his £105m release clause.
An offer of £112m was tabled but Chelsea asked for the dealt to be paid in three yearly instalments, with Benfica adamant he would only leave if his clause was paid in full.r
Chelsea also tried to tempt Benfica with an offer of £79m along with Hakim Ziyech and two other players on loan.
Benfica held their ground with manager Roger Schmidt slamming the ‘disrespectful’ approach from the Premier League side.
Fernandez, who tried to force the move to Stamford Bridge through himself, has since returned to the starting XI with Benfica considering the matter closed.
Chelsea have not, however. According to Portuguese newspaper Record, the Blues have not given up on signing Fernandez this month with the club now preparing a new offer to bring him to west London.
With Benfica adamant he will not leave for a penny less than his release clause, Chelsea will have to pay his £105m release clause in full.
Chelsea’s spending has been rampant this month with their biggest piece of business to date the £88m signing of Mkyhailo Mudryk, signed from under the noses of Arsenal and making his debut off the bench against Liverpool on Saturday.
The Club have also signed Noni Madueke from PSV Eindhoven, Andrey Santos from Vasco da Gama, Benoit Badiashile from Monaco and David Datro Fofana from Molde.
Joao Felix has also joined from Atletico Madrid on loan after Chelsea agreed to pay a fee of £9m for the deal until the end of the season, taking their winter spending to around £160m.
Chelsea were already the biggest summer spenders after an outlay of £278m.
The club also hold interest in Brighton stars Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo, while there have been talks over a move for Borussia Monchengladbach striker Marcus Thuram.
MORE : Declan Rice favours Arsenal move ahead of Chelsea
MORE : Mykhailo Mudryk reacts to new Chelsea chant mocking Arsenal
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