Chelsea defender Axel Disasi has backed teammate Enzo Fernandez to reach the same level as former Blues star Cesc Fabregas.

Disasi played alongside Fabregas during his time at Monaco and, speaking to Capital Football, he drew comparisons between the Spaniard and Fernandez:

“Enzo Fernandez can reach Fabregas’s level. He is a player who has great quality, is still young and has the whole future ahead of him. So of course, he can.”

Considering both players have won World Cups, playing for their countries in midfield, it is certainly a valid comparison.

However, in terms of Fernandez’s performances in the Premier League, the Argentinian international has a long way to go in order to match Fabregas.

Comparing Fernandez to Fabregas at the same age

At Arsenal, Fabregas established himself as a regular starter when he was still a teenager. By the time he left for Barcelona at 24 (a year older than Fernandez is now), he had scored 57 goals and provided 95 assists in 303 appearances.

Fernandez, in contrast, has played only 160 senior career matches so far, scoring 21 goals and contributing 22 assists. The Argentine is averaging a goal or assist every 3.7 matches. Fabregas’s average was 1 in 1.99 games for the Gunners.

Chelsea have yet to see Fernandez’s best

Based on the above statistics, it may be unfair to expect the 23-year-old to reach Fabregas’s level. After all, the Spaniard was a generational player. Even so, Blues fans should still expect a lot after the club paid £107m to sign Fernandez 12 months ago.

There have been some promising signs in recent games that Fernandez’s form is picking up. The midfielder scored in the win over Preston North End earlier this month and he looked impressive last time out against Fulham. As Disasi says, though, there is a feeling that the best is yet to come from the Argentine.