Chelsea signing of Argentina midfielder ‘confirmed’ as Enzo Fernandez decision reached | OneFootball

The signing of an Argentina midfielder is reportedly ‘confirmed’ at Chelsea amid a decision being made on Enzo Fernandez following his ban from the club.

Reports in recent days have suggested the Blues are in talks to sign Strasbourg midfielder Valentin Barco. After joining Brighton from Boca Juniors, he made little contribution in England, and headed to France in the summer.

There, he has been one of best midfielders in the country, leading to Chelsea’s interest in him, as well as reported interest from Bayern Munich.

But it’s been suggested the Blues have the best chance of signing Barco, and an update states the move is now done.

Indeed, insider Gaston Edul reports the move is ‘confirmed’ with Chelsea buying the Argentine international.

Edul wrote on X: ‘Chelsea buys Valentín Barco. There is a contractual agreement with him and an understanding between clubs. He will join midway through the year.’

Barco played in the midfield alongside Chelsea man Fernandez for Argentina in their last match, a 5-0 victory against Zambia, and there could have been a situation in which he was replacing his compatriot at Stamford Bridge.

Fernandez decision made

Indeed, Fernandez has been banned for two games by Chelsea after he seemed to suggest in the media that he’d like to sign for Real Madrid.

Despite the Blues’ current stance, they hold no ill feeling towards Fernandez, who they feel is one of the best central midfielders in the world.

TEAMtalk sources have stated that the Blues are still willing to reward their midfielder with a new contract.

Indeed, they are determined to retain him, and though there is interest from Real, it would cost north of £100million for them or any other side to land the midfielder.

Fernandez’s agent, Javier Pastore, has stated that if there is no agreement with Chelsea, they will pursue other options, but they are looking for the Argentine to stay at Stamford Bridge.

Pastore said of late: “There have been talks about renewing his contract, yes. We started discussing but we couldn’t reach an agreement. As Enzo’s contract still has six years to run, we decided not to renew it because the terms weren’t right for us or for the player.

“Given what Enzo is capable of today, he deserves much more than he’s currently earning.”

Chelsea round-up: Rosenior backed for Fernandez decision

It was the decision of Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior to suspend Fernandez from playing for two games.

Insider Ben Jacobs stated that the club’s ‘ownership and leadership team’ back the manager for his decision, seeing it as strong leadership, instilling ‘discipline and standards.’

After reports of Chelsea opening exploratory talks for Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate, it’s believed the chances of him still being a Liverpool player next season are ‘strong.’