Enzo Fernandez has urged Chelsea fans to trust the players, staff and head coach Graham Potter amid a poor run of form.
Chelsea have won just four of their last 19 games and are without a win in their last five after losing 1-0 at home to Southampton last weekend.
That is despite a significant outlay on new players in the last two transfer windows, including a record £106.8million (€121m) on bringing World Cup winner Fernandez in from Benfica in January.
The Blues sit 10th in the Premier League ahead of Sunday’s trip to Tottenham, and Fernandez has called on the fans to back them.
“My message to the fans would be never forget that we are representing you,” the 22-year-old told The Times. “Trust us. Trust the players, trust the backroom staff, trust the manager. Because we are all moving in the same direction.
“It is a restructuring of the club. We are going to be trying to win games, starting on Sunday. Then we can start to turn things around.”
Fernandez became the most expensive signing in British football history when he arrived at Stamford Bridge, but he insists that does not factor into his thinking on the pitch.
“These figures are nothing to do with me,” he said. “It’s part of football. My job is to go out and give my best.”
Fernandez was one of several new faces brought in by Chelsea, along with Mykhaylo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke, David Datro Fofana and Joao Felix, who signed on loan from Atletico Madrid, and Fernandez would like the Portuguese attacker to sign permanently at the end of the season.
“He called me when I got here to ask if he could be any help,” Fernandez said of Joao Felix. “When you get on with someone it helps on the field. He’s a great player, isn’t he? Let’s hope that Chelsea can do all they can to keep hold of him.”
The former River Plate midfielder also enjoyed a breakout World Cup last year, helping captain Lionel Messi and Argentina to success in Qatar in December, and Fernandez described what it was like to play alongside his idol.
“He’s one of those leaders who are really positive all the time, both in the example he sets in his play but also on a human level in the dressing room,” he said.
“He’s down to earth and kind to everyone. He offers support to everyone within the squad, from the biggest stars through to the youngsters.
“I felt very conscious that he was with me all the way, giving me a lot of moral support. It was my biggest dream ever – to play with Messi.
“To then go on in that team to win the World Cup, it’s almost like God has given me a huge gift… What can I take from that time with him? Energy. It was a special dressing room, a lively dressing room.
“Energy, positivity and a real will to win, but also keeping humble. I know I’m still young and I need to keep learning but maybe tomorrow, maybe at some point in the future, I want to really demonstrate that I’m a leader.”
