Chelsea need to resolve the future of Enzo Fernandez as soon as possible, so the Blues should entertain the prospect of player-plus-cash offers from Real Madrid.
Chelsea should offer Real Madrid the opportunity to make a player-plus-cash bid for Enzo Fernandez. The 25-year-old midfielder has been heavily linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu this summer as Jose Mourinho looks to bolster his options in the middle of the park, but Los Blancos have yet to submit an offer.
On Friday morning, Real Madrid released a statement firmly denying they have made any effort to sign Fernandez from the Blues, either directly or indirectly. The Spanish giants also claimed, despite their ‘utmost respect’ for the Argentina international as a player, they have ‘no intention of undertaking such an operation’.
Los Blancos later insisted they have an ‘excellent relationship’ with Chelsea, having swiftly wrapped up a deal for Marc Cucurella last month. football.london understands that, at the end of May, Fernandez informed higher-ups at Stamford Bridge of his desire to leave this summer.
So, the Blues gave the Argentine, whom they signed from Benfica for £106million in 2023, a £120m price tag. As it stands, it remains unclear whether or not Real Madrid will eventually submit a bid for Fernandez, let alone offer a nine-figure fee.
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The Spanish giants haven’t spent more than £100m on a player, including add-ons, since they signed Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund during the summer of 2023. Four years earlier, Real Madrid paid Chelsea an initial £89m for Eden Hazard, who achieved many of the performance-related clauses in his contract, bringing the package to an eye-watering £149m.
If Los Blancos don’t feel comfortable forking out a nine-figure fee for Fernandez, Chelsea should encourage them to make a player-plus-cash bid to make up the difference. For instance, assuming the Blues stand by their valuation, if Real Madrid were to offer Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga, valued at a combined £103m by Transfermarkt, they would only need to pay £17m for the Argentine.
Of course, there are other players on the books at the Santiago Bernabeu, but Tchouameni and Camavinga would best suit Xabi Alonso, who would need to reinforce the Chelsea midfield. The former would be a particularly good signing for the Blues, having been an avid supporter of the former Liverpool midfielder while he was at Real Madrid.
Towards the end of Alonso’s spell in charge, when Los Blancos conceded ground in the race for the title, Tchouameni leapt to his defence and pointed the fingers at his teammates. The 26-year-old midfielder told TNT Sports: “We have a great coach, obviously, with our results, the ups and downs, we have to do a better job.
“But we are going to keep working hard, and we are confident in the fact we are going to be better. We are all in the same boat; in order to get some wins and win trophies, we have to stay together, and this is what we are going to keep doing.
“We have to do a better job on the pitch, we know that, and as I said, we have a great opportunity tomorrow to change the dynamic, so we are excited to play this game.”
Tchouameni has also been previously linked with a move to Chelsea. Back in January 2022, shortly before Roman Abramovich was forced to sell the club, football.london reported that the Blues were interested in signing the France international from Monaco.
At the time, it was understood that no club had followed Tchouameni longer, keeping tabs on his development before Real Madrid eventually capitalised on the takeover uncertainty in west London and swooped in.
It’s said that Chelsea could have also pulled the trigger during the summer of 2021 following talks with his agent, Jonathan Kebe. But a deal didn’t materialise, and the Blues signed Saúl Ñíguez on loan from Atletico Madrid instead.
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