Alexander Isak’s protracted £125m transfer to Liverpool dominated final summer season’s switch window and there are indicators that Manchester Metropolis’s pursuit of Enzo Fernandez might comply with an identical sample.
Chelsea agreed with the Argentina midfielder’s agent Javier Pastore in late Might that Fernandez might go away the membership for £120m – however put a deadline of 14 August for any bids.
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Now that final Friday’s deadline handed with none formal presents, the Blues have advised Fernandez’s camp that the participant just isn’t on the market on this switch window.
However, as final summer season’s Isak saga confirmed, it’s not often that easy. The Sweden striker lastly clinched his British document switch transfer to Liverpool on switch deadline day after weeks of Newcastle United insisting he was not on the market.
Twelve months on, the Fernandez uncertainty just isn’t going away.
Manchester Metropolis, managed by Fernandez’s former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, are nonetheless eager to signal the 25-year-old and imagine the London membership nonetheless need to do a deal.
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Metropolis, who’re additionally in superior talks a few £85m deal for Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, are bidding to bolster their midfield after Rodri agreed a transfer to Barcelona.
They’ve already signed midfielder Elliot Anderson for a club-record £116m from Nottingham Forest, winger Jeremy Monga from Leicester Metropolis for £12.5m and goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli from Marseille for £1.7m.
If Fernandez and Bouaddi be part of, it means Maresca can have overseen a complete spend of greater than £330m.
A bit of that outlay can be funded by the gross sales of Rodri and James Trafford in addition to the doubtless departures of Tijjani Reijnders and Savinho. The exits of Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Nathan Ake have decreased the wage invoice too.
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Reviews from Spain additionally counsel Chelsea stay privately open to promoting Fernandez and that the membership have appointed high-profile agent Jorge Mendes, who additionally represents winger Pedro Neto, to resolve the state of affairs.
Fernandez tried and didn’t safe a transfer to Actual Madrid earlier in the summertime – regardless of the membership later publicly denying any curiosity – and the state of affairs is additional sophisticated by his relationship with Chelsea’s followers.
There have been audible jeers when he got here on in Saturday’s 3-1 pleasant win over Actual Sociedad, though others responded with cheers. There was an identical combined response each time he touched the ball.
Chelsea stay assured the midfielder will be reintegrated again into the squad and made a present of intent by giving him the captain’s armband when he changed Reece James final weekend.
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Nevertheless doubt stays over whether or not Fernandez will keep, and there may be concern concerning the disruption such a late switch would create, not least if new supervisor Xabi Alonso wished to recruit a alternative.
Are Chelsea leaving it late?
There are echoes of final summer season’s Isak story, with Newcastle showing to take a robust stance and rejecting an preliminary £110m supply regardless of widespread data that he was coaching away from the membership along with his former facet Actual Sociedad.
It continued all through the summer season and solely got here to a conclusion when Liverpool introduced the deal two-and-a-half hours after the switch window closed.
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The Magpies had already signed attacking reinforcements, bringing in Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart for a club-record charge of £69m and Yoane Wissa from Brentford for £55m. Neither signing carried out as hoped although, and Newcastle endured a disappointing season.
Alonso has used a 3-4-2-1 system in pre-season and it has been profitable. It largely mirrors the set-up he used when Bayer Leverkusen to an historic league and cup double in 2024.
Moises Caicedo and James had been the midfield pair at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with Jordan Henderson sidelined by harm.
Romeo Lavia got here off the bench, with Valentin Barco and Dario Essugo remaining unused substitutes.
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Chelsea are nicely stocked in midfield, particularly in a season with out European soccer, and will cope by way of numbers with out signing a alternative for Fernandez if he left.
Actually, they know they should transfer on a major quantity of gamers earlier than the window closes.
Nevertheless, earlier this summer season they made a £64m bid for Bournemouth’s Alex Scott and had been reportedly supplied Arsenal midfielder Myles Lewis-Skelly. They’ve additionally been linked with Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton and Monaco’s Lamine Camara.
Bournemouth say Scott just isn’t on the market at any worth and it is also understood that Lewis-Skelly, who arrange the primary purpose within the Neighborhood Protect win over Metropolis, is eager to stay at Arsenal.
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Whether or not Chelsea resist Metropolis’s curiosity and totally reintegrate Fernandez to the squad or whether or not they promote the midfielder is prone to be one of many themes of the ultimate two weeks of the switch window.
