Manchester City to Make Opening Bid for Enzo Fernandez
Manchester City are preparing an opening offer for Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez, with Enzo Maresca pushing hard to make the Argentina international the centrepiece of his new-look midfield.
Maresca has placed Fernandez at the top of his wish list after a summer of upheaval at the Etihad. Four major midfielders have already gone. The core of City’s engine room has been stripped out in a matter of weeks, and the club is now moving with intent.
Chelsea know exactly how highly City rate Fernandez. Earlier in the summer, the London club set an unofficial deadline for any deal and made it clear they wanted at least £120m. That date came and went without an agreement, but the story hasn’t died. City are expected to come back again before next week’s transfer deadline, this time with a formal bid.
If Chelsea do relent, Fernandez would become one of the most expensive signings in Premier League history, behind only Liverpool’s £125m move for Alexander Isak last summer. It could also be the second time in the same window that City break their own transfer record, having already paid £116m to bring Elliot Anderson in from Nottingham Forest.
This is not a cold, opportunistic move. There is history here. Fernandez maintains a positive relationship with Maresca, who left Chelsea in controversial circumstances on New Year’s Day before taking the City job in June. The pair know each other, trust each other, and Maresca sees Fernandez as a ready-made solution rather than a long-term project.
City’s urgency is easy to understand. Tijjani Reijnders has gone to Al-Qadsiah in Saudi Arabia for £52m. Barcelona have taken Rodri for £65m. Newcastle have agreed a £52m deal for Nico Gonzalez. Bernardo Silva departed earlier in the summer and has since joined Real Madrid. That is a spine ripped out of a title-winning side, and the club hierarchy has been forced into aggressive recruitment.
Across London, Fernandez’s Chelsea career has veered from marquee signing to constant flashpoint. He arrived from Benfica in 2023 for £107m as a symbol of the club’s new era, but the last few months at Stamford Bridge have been turbulent.
He and his agent, former Paris St-Germain midfielder Javier Pastore, explored interest from Real Madrid, only for the Spanish giants to release a statement publicly denying any move for him. The tension has simmered ever since Chelsea’s Champions League exit to PSG in March, after which Fernandez grew increasingly critical of the club.
New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso revealed in July that he had held a private conversation with Fernandez about his future and his role, but refused to disclose what was said. The sense lingered that something had to give.
On the pitch, the atmosphere has turned sour. Fernandez came off the bench in Monday’s 3-2 win over Fulham and was booed by sections of the home support, the reaction tied to his role in England’s World Cup exit. At full-time he briefly celebrated with the away end and his team-mates, then headed straight down the tunnel as the first Chelsea player to disappear from view.
Now, with the window closing in fast and City’s midfield in flux, the question is no longer whether Enzo Fernandez will be at the centre of someone’s project this season – but whose badge he will be wearing when the deadline passes.
