Man City Inform Chelsea Of Enzo Fernandez Transfer Plan - But Will It Be Enough? | OneFootball

Pre-season is almost over and Chelsea have plenty of decisions to make. Video Credit: Absolute Chelsea

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Manchester City will continue their pursuit of Enzo Fernandez despite Chelsea’s insistence on not selling after last Friday’s deadline.

Chelsea informed all interested parties, including Fernandez’s camp, Manchester City and other potential suitors, that they had until 5pm (UK time) on Friday, August 14, to submit an offer for the £120 million-rated midfielder.

That deadline passed without any formal bids, and Chelsea have since expected Fernandez to stay at the club this season.

While that should have concluded the Fernandez transfer saga, it hasn't for Manchester City.

They reached an agreement with Barcelona for Rodri on Sunday evening, a couple of days after Chelsea’s deadline for Fernandez, and are now in search of a replacement.

Fernandez remains at the top of their shortlist.

According to The Athletic, Manchester City still consider the Argentina international a priority target and will still attempt to negotiate a deal despite the verbal agreement between Chelsea and the player’s representatives over the deadline.

Having failed to bid £120m before the deadline, Manchester City reportedly do not intend to offer a higher sum, even if Chelsea raise their asking price.

Would Chelsea still entertain an offer from Manchester City?

While nothing is stopping Manchester City from filing a bid, Chelsea have no obligation to enter negotiations.

Fernandez remains under a long-term contract at Chelsea until the summer of 2032, and the club had already opened the door to offers and set a reasonable deadline.

According to the BBC, the deadline was agreed between Chelsea and Fernandez’s agent, Javier Pastore, in late May. In other words, the midfielder’s camp had a couple of months to secure an exit and failed to do so.

That said, recent reports in Spain suggest Chelsea themselves are not convinced Fernandez’s future is settled.

Chelsea are reported to have brought in super-agent Jorge Mendes to help “speed up” Fernandez’s potential exit.

It is worth noting that Mendes was also involved when Chelsea signed Fernandez from Benfica in 2023 on a then club-record £106.8m deal.

However, even if the report is true, it is hard to imagine Chelsea would agree to let go of Fernandez for less than the £120m asking price.

Fernandez himself has not caused any problems on the pitch.

He reported back for pre-season in time last week, and even wore the captain's armband when he came on as a substitute in Chelsea’s 3-1 pre-season friendly win over Real Sociedad last Saturday.

Fernandez had to deal with boos and jeers from some unhappy crowd at Stamford Bridge, but some others chanted his name to show their support.

With a couple of weeks left in this summer transfer window, the sooner this saga reaches its conclusion, the better for all parties.