Manchester City have agreed a Premier League record deal to sign Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea. The Cityzens are paying £125 million to the Blues, the same fee Liverpool paid to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle United last summer.
According to a report by David Ornstein in The Athletic, Chelsea have agreed to sell their star player on deadline day. The FIFA Club World Cup champions were unwilling to sanction a move, but the Argentina star pushed for the transfer.
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Fernandez was keen on joining Real Madrid, who rejected claims that they were in talks to sign him. Los Blancos said they were not in talks with his agent or the player directly.
Manchester City were looking to bolster their midfield, despite signing Elliot Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi for £116 million and £95 million respectively. They are looking to replace Rodri, who was sold to Barcelona, Nico Gonzalez, who was sold to Newcastle United, and Bernardo Silva, who left after his contract expired in the summer.
Fernandez has worked with Enzo Maresca for 18 months at Stamford Bridge, before the Italian resigned following talks with Manchester City. The coach joined the Cityzens as Pep Guardiola’s replacement in the summer, after he paid an undisclosed amount and the club paid £17 million in compensation.
Chelsea were willing to sell Fernandez for £120 million earlier this summer, but Manchester City did not adhere to the deadline. They made a move earlier this week and were quoted £130 million, and eventually settled for £125 million.
Fernandez joined the Blues for £106 million in January 2023 from Benfica. He played 170 matches, scoring 31 goals and assisting 30 times.
Xabi Alonso left Manchester City target out of the last two Chelsea matches
Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso dropped Enzo Fernandez from the squad for the wins over Luton Town in the Carabao Cup and Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League. He admitted that the transfer was possible before the deadline and said:
“We’ll see. We want the best for the team, and that’s why we took the decision against Luton and today. We have to be aware (until) Tuesday evening of what is going to develop. We’re not sure. We are preparing for all scenarios. I’m sure that, whatever happens, from Wednesday we will have a good enough squad to compete in the Premier League.”
Enzo Fernandez came off the bench in Chelsea’s 3-2 win at Fulham last week and that will remain as his final match for the Blues.
Edited by Sripad
