Chelsea make final decision on €140m Enzo Fernandez transfer

Updated: 11 Aug 2026 09:59 BST |
4 min read

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Chelsea expect Enzo Fernandez to remain at the club this summer despite interest from Manchester City, according to The Athletic.

The Athletic understands Man City boss Enzo Maresca would be keen on a reunion with Fernandez, should Tijjani Reijnders leave the Etihad Stadium.

Maresca and Fernandez worked together at Chelsea and are believed to share a strong relationship as a result.

However, the Athletic claims the Blues are now planning to keep hold of Fernandez with the new Premier League season less than two weeks away.

The same outlet understands Chelsea previously valued the Argentina star at €140million (£120m), but that is unlikely to remain the case.

Fernandez had also been linked with Real Madrid this summer but the La Liga giants said they had “no intention” of signing the midfielder in July.

The 25-year-old fuelled speculation of a possible move to Real after saying he “would really like to live in Madrid” in March.

Fernandez was subsequently handed an internal two-match ban by Chelsea, with then-head coach Liam Rosenior saying he had “crossed a line” with his comments.

Fernandez has shone for Chelsea over the last four-and-a-half seasons

Chelsea signed Fernandez from Portuguese giants Benfica for a then club-record fee of €124m (£106m) in January 2023.

He has recorded 31 goals and 30 assists in 169 appearances for the west Londoners, winning the UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup under Maresca in 2025.

Fernandez has also netted eight times across 49 caps for Argentina, with whom he won the World Cup at Qatar 2022.

He also helped his country reach this summer’s final in North America, with Argentina losing 1-0 to Spain after extra time.

Chelsea meanwhile are preparing to face Real Sociedad on Saturday in their final pre-season fixture before the start of the 2026-27 campaign.

The Stamford Bridge side travel to Fulham on Monday, 24 August in what will be Xabi Alonso’s first competitive match in charge of the club.

Chelsea have backed new manager Alonso with the signings of Marco Palestra, Morgan Rogers, Maxence Lacroix, Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck this summer.

Geovany Quenda, Emmanuel Emegha, Denner and Dastan Satpaev have also joined Chelsea on deals that were negotiated before Alonso’s appointment in May.

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