Manchester City Set to Bid for Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández
Manchester City are preparing to test Chelsea’s resolve with an opening bid for Enzo Fernández before the transfer window slams shut, according to BBC Sport.
Chelsea have set a starting price of at least £120 million for the 25-year-old Argentina international. That figure would make Fernández the second-most expensive signing in Premier League history, behind only Alexander Isak’s £125m switch to Liverpool.
For Enzo Maresca, he is the piece. The one he wants to rebuild his midfield around at the Etihad.
Maresca’s key target
Maresca’s pursuit of Fernández is not coming out of nowhere. The pair forged a strong relationship at Chelsea, and that bond has survived the manager’s controversial New Year’s Day exit from Stamford Bridge. When Maresca walked away and later resurfaced at City in June, the idea of a reunion with Fernández never really disappeared.
City have already shown this summer they are willing to go big. They smashed their transfer record with a £116m deal for Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest. Landing Fernández would mean breaking that record again within the same window.
The urgency is clear. City’s midfield has been ripped apart.
- Tijjani Reijnders has gone to Al-Qadsiah for £52m.
- Rodri has joined Barcelona for £65m.
- Nico Gonzalez has moved to Newcastle for £52m.
- Bernardo Silva has departed for Real Madrid.
Four pillars, gone. One marquee signing suddenly feels non-negotiable.
Chelsea tensions and a restless star
The timing of City’s move is no accident. Tensions between Fernández and Chelsea have been simmering since their Champions League exit to PSG in March. The midfielder did not hide his frustration and made his feelings known publicly, a rare open crack in the club’s dressing-room front.
Fernández, signed from Benfica for £107m in 2023, even explored the possibility of joining Real Madrid with his agent Javier Pastore. Madrid quickly distanced themselves from the speculation, shutting down talk of a move, but the episode underlined the player’s unease.
New Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso stepped in during July, holding private talks with Fernández in an attempt to steady the situation. Alonso refused to reveal what was discussed. The silence only added to the intrigue around the midfielder’s future.
A defining week for both clubs
Now City are racing the clock. They must formalise an offer before next week’s deadline if Maresca is to get his man and reshape a midfield stripped of its core.
For Chelsea, the stakes are just as high. Selling Fernández would be their most high-profile departure since Eden Hazard left for Real Madrid in 2019. It would bring a huge fee, but also rip out a player signed to be a long-term cornerstone.
Alonso has to keep his squad locked in with key league fixtures looming, even as one of his most valuable assets sits at the centre of the window’s latest saga.
Maresca, meanwhile, is pushing for the kind of statement signing that could define his early reign and reassert City’s dominance in England and Europe.
The money is on the table. The clock is ticking. Who blinks first?
