Chelsea handed Enzo Fernandez boost as Man City miss £120m transfer deadline | OneFootball

Argentina international had been linked with a move away this summer

Chelsea look set to keep Enzo Fernandez at Stamford Bridge after the transfer deadline they set for a potential exit expired.

Standard Sport reported previously that the Blues had put a strict deadline of 5pm BST on Friday, August 14 for any bids to be submitted for the Argentine midfielder.

Manchester City and Real Madrid both held interest in the 25-year-old, but neither lodged an offer to Xabi Alonso’s side before the 5pm cut-off point.

As such, it looks as though Fernandez, who Chelsea signed for £106.8m from Benfica back in 2023, will remain in west London and be a part of Alonso’s squad for the upcoming campaign.

Chelsea had set a £120m asking price for their No8, which included further financial stipulations in terms of payment terms. These terms were understood to have been communicated to all potential suitors.

It is also understood that the west Londoners are not willing to consider a January sale.

City, now managed by former Blues boss Enzo Maresca, have been active in the transfer market, especially when looking to strengthen their midfield.

They smashed the British transfer record to sign Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for £116m, and they remain locked in talks with Lille to land 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi for a fee that could also reach £100m.

Fernandez, who was sent off in this summer’s World Cup final, played 36 times for his club in the Premier League last term, scoring 10 goals and adding four assists.

He was also a regular in Lionel Scaloni’s starting lineup for Argentina at the World Cup, but he was given his marching orders in the 1-0 final defeat by Spain in East Rutherford, New Jersey after a second yellow card.