Depending on how well Argentina do at the World Cup, Enzo Fernandez could report for pre-season late, so Jose Mourinho will want Real Madrid to wrap up a deal as soon as possible.
Real Madrid are in a race against time to sign Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea. The Blues star continues to be heavily linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu as Jose Mourinho looks to bolster his midfield, but Los Blancos are yet to submit a bid.
football.london understands that Real Madrid are interested in signing Fernandez, whom Chelsea signed from Benfica for £106.7million in 2023. The Blues would rather keep the 25-year-old midfielder, but they won’t stand in his way if they receive an offer worth £120m.
The Spanish giants are yet to contact Chelsea about a potential transfer, but that’s likely to change soon, with Fernandez viewed as a priority target. The Argentina international wants to swap Stamford Bridge for the Santiago Bernabeu, so personal terms are not expected to be a problem.
It’s understood that Fernandez informed the Blues of his wish to leave last month. The cracks began to show during the March international break, when he refused to commit his future to the club and expressed his desire to live in Madrid one day.
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Three months or so later, and Real Madrid are yet to make an approach for Fernandez. Although the summer transfer window doesn’t shut until September 1, there’s plenty of work to be done to secure his signature.
So, with that being said, football.london has looked at when Mourinho would want any potential deal completed by.
Before the end of the World Cup
Mourinho would likely want Real Madrid to wrap up the signing of Fernandez before the end of the World Cup to avoid the risk of another club hijacking a potential deal. It could be a difficult transfer to complete, with the player, his agent, and various club officials dotted across the globe.
That said, however, Los Blancos did manage to secure the signature of Marc Cucurella while he was on international duty in the United States, albeit before Spain’s opening game of the tournament. The World Cup final will take place at the MetLife Stadium in New York on Sunday, July 19.
Before the end of pre-season
If Mourinho is unable to get his hands on Fernandez in the next month or so, he could still integrate him into the squad before the end of pre-season. Unfortunately for the Real Madrid boss, though, many players, including the Chelsea midfielder, could return to their clubs late due to player welfare rules.
Last summer, ahead of the Club World Cup, FIFPRO called for a mandatory four-week break at the end of each season. Then, after a meeting with player unions, FIFA announced: “There is a consensus that there must be at least 72 hours of rest between matches, and that players should have a rest period/holiday of at least 21 days at the end of each season.”
So, players of teams who at least reach the round of 16 in the World Cup won’t be back in action until the start of August, missing out on valuable time on the pitch. Real Madrid are yet to announce plans for pre-season; The Athletic reckon Mourinho’s side may not go on an overseas tour this summer.
Before the first day of the season
If Real Madrid still haven’t signed Fernandez by August, Florentino Perez will be under pressure to get a deal over the line before the opening weekend of the new season. La Liga will announce the fixture list on Tuesday, June 30, but the 2026/27 campaign is expected to begin on the weekend of August 15 – a week earlier than the Premier League.
Summer transfer window deadline
The summer transfer window will slam shut on Tuesday, September 1. By then, the season will be well underway, and most teams will have wrapped up the bulk of their business.
Unfortunately for Chelsea, Real Madrid have been known to leave it late. Los Blancos signed Ronaldo Nazario from Inter Milan in September 2002, Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur in September 2013, and Eduardo Camavinga from Rennes in August 2021, each in the final hours of the respective transfer windows.
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