Enzo Fernandez Man City talks under way as Chelsea hold out for £120m

By Jack Shaw · London · Published: 08:25 BST

• Manchester City have opened talks with Chelsea over a deadline-day move for Enzo Fernandez, according to BBC Sport.
• Chelsea want a minimum of £120m for the 25-year-old Argentina international, with the two clubs still negotiating a price.
• Fernandez is open to the move and personal terms are not an issue — if a fee is agreed, the deal is expected to be completed quickly before Tuesday’s 23:00 BST deadline.

Enzo Fernandez is the biggest name left on the board. Man City have opened talks with Chelsea over signing the Argentina midfielder, BBC Sport’s Sami Mokbel reports, with Chelsea holding out for a minimum of £120m — a fee that would make Fernandez one of the most expensive signings in Premier League history, behind only Liverpool’s £125m move for Alexander Isak last summer.

Enzo Fernandez Man City talks: what has actually happened

City have set the wheels in motion rather than closed anything. Chelsea set an unofficial deadline earlier in the summer for a deal at a minimum of £120m, only for that date to pass, and while the clubs had not held formal discussions before now, Chelsea were aware of City’s interest. A separate BBC report on Chelsea’s outgoings noted that no formal offer had been made as of Monday night, and that any departure would depend on Chelsea strengthening their own squad and receiving a substantial fee.

It has not been a quiet window at the Etihad either: City agreed a deal worth up to £65m for Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye on Monday, while their £80m move for Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo is close to collapsing. For the full chronological timeline of deadline-day business, follow the rolling coverage at JOE Sport, and read our report on Liverpool’s £123m signing of Bradley Barcola.

The expert angle: this is a rebuild, not a luxury

Strip out the headline number and this is the most logical signing City could make. Their midfield has been dismantled inside one window: Rodri sold to Barcelona for £65m, Tijjani Reijnders to Al-Qadsiah for £52m, Nico Gonzalez to Newcastle in an agreed £52m deal, and Bernardo Silva gone to Real Madrid. Four senior midfielders out. One £116m arrival in Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest does not replace that on its own, and paying £120m-plus for Fernandez would mean City breaking their own transfer record twice in the same window.

The other half of it is Enzo Maresca. City’s manager coached Fernandez at Stamford Bridge before leaving Chelsea in controversial fashion on New Year’s Day and moving to the Etihad in June, and the two have kept a positive relationship. A manager buying a player he already knows, for a record fee, on deadline day, is a manager confident the fit is immediate rather than a project.

The risk sits on Chelsea’s side of the ledger. Fernandez, who scored 10 Premier League goals for Chelsea last season, has had a turbulent spell at Stamford Bridge, during which he and his agent — the former Paris St-Germain midfielder Javier Pastore — courted interest from Real Madrid, only for the Spanish club to deny any attempt to sign him. Selling a 25-year-old of that profile to a direct title rival is the sort of decision that gets re-litigated for years, whatever the fee.

Wrap-up

There are roughly 15 hours left. Is £120m-plus for Enzo Fernandez smart business for Chelsea, or the sort of sale a club regrets by Christmas? For more on how the deadline is reshaping the top of the league, read our report on Tottenham’s loan signing of Omar Marmoush from Manchester City.

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