"We Knew" - Xabi Alonso Makes Enzo Fernandez Admission After Big Chelsea Decision To Allow Man City Transfer | OneFootball

It was a busy deadline day for Chelsea, who sanction Enzo Fernandez's transfer to Man City.

Xabi Alonso insisted he was involved in Chelsea’s decision to sell Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City this summer.

Fernandez’s switch to Manchester City is arguably the most significant deal throughout the summer transfer window.

Chelsea secured £125 million from the deal, the joint-highest sale in Premier League history, but they also lost a key player, a vice-captain, and an influential figure in the dressing room while potentially strengthening direct Premier League rivals.

There were indications that Alonso might want to keep Fernandez in his squad for the 2026/27 season despite rumours of the midfielder’s desire to leave Chelsea.

When Fernandez came on as a substitute in Chelsea’s final pre-season friendly against Real Sociedad, Reece James passed the captain’s armband to the Argentina international amid boos and chants from the divided Stamford Bridge crowd.

It became clearer that Fernandez was inching closer to an exit when he was left out of back-to-back games against Luton Town and Brighton, before Chelsea and Manchester City reached an agreement for a transfer on Tuesday’s deadline day.

Alonso claimed that he took part in the decision-making in Fernandez’s case, so he is fully on board with the outcome.

“No, we take all the decisions together,” Alonso clarified when asked whether he supported the Fernandez sale.

“We are responsible for them. We have worked together on every decision, big ones, small ones, because we knew that ultimately the last goal is to have the best for the team, the best for the squad, the best for daily work here.

“We want to build a good spirit, a good team, and we have always taken decisions thinking that we wanted to reach that.”

On whether he regretted not having more time to work with Fernandez, Alonso added: “In football, many things happen, and you need to be prepared for everything.

“With Enzo, we have had conversations, but we always respect what he has done for the club. It has been great, thankful, but now it's time to move forward.”

It is time to move forward, indeed.

Chelsea did not manage to bring in a midfield replacement in time, partly due to the late nature of Fernandez’s transfer, but they have the funds to do so if they wish in the upcoming transfer windows.

Additionally, the Blues had acquired midfield reinforcements in Valentin Barco and Jordan Henderson before green-lighting Fernandez’s departure.

Fernandez also did not play any significant role in Chelsea’s first three games, but the club still came out with a perfect record of three wins.

Chelsea captain Reece James has stepped up to the midfield role and done really well as a number six. Once Moises Caicedo and Henderson overcome their injuries, Chelsea’s midfield will certainly look a lot more stable.

Alonso also confirmed that he considers the two right-backs, James and Malo Gusto, as additional midfield options, along with academy stars Reggie Watson and Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli.

As Alonso pointed out, he wants to build a good spirit in the team, and keeping a player who had been bent on leaving would have only got in the way of achieving this.