Why Rodri To Barcelona Could Put Chelsea, Real Madrid & Man City On Transfer Alert | OneFootball

The latest on Enzo Fernandez's future at Chelsea. Video Credit: Absolute Chelsea

Enzo Fernandez's future remains unclear as a return to pre-season looms for the Chelsea midfielder.

The 25-year-old is on an extended break following his World Cup participation with Argentina. He is set to report back for Chelsea duty next week once the Blues return from their pre-season tour of Australia and Asia.

As Fernandez focuses on building up his fitness and match sharpness for the start of the 2026/27 season, talk over his future will continue off the pitch between now and the end of the transfer window.

His agent, Javier Pastore, has continued to be public over his client's future. Pastore spoke during the World Cup at the beginning of July with Marca to confirm that his focus was on the tournament, but options to leave Chelsea were being explored.

"He's only thinking about that and we're looking at possibilities for him to leave Chelsea, but there's nothing firm or confirmed with any club," said Pastore.

Fernandez has been the subject of interest from both Real Madrid and Manchester City this summer, but neither has advanced their interest in the Chelsea star.

Chelsea paid £106.8 million to sign Fernandez from Benfica in the 2023 winter transfer window. They now value him at around £120m. They will not accept a lower fee if they are to sanction a transfer.

Fernandez's World Cup ended in disappointment after he was sent off in the final as Argentina lost to Spain. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli

The club are happy to keep Enzo as part of their plans for next season, with new manager Xabi Alonso revealing last month that he has spoken with the Argentine.

"Enzo's a great player and we are looking forward to having him and start working together," Alonso said.

He added: "We have spoken. But as you can understand, what we said will remain private."

Talks will likely ramp up when Fernandez returns to Chelsea's Cobham training ground.

They are under no pressure to sell their star player, given his current contract is understood to run until the summer of 2032.

However, amid previous interest from Real Madrid and Man City - the latter now managed by former Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca - a transfer elsewhere could affect whether their interest resurfaces.

According to reports in France, Rodri has shown a preference to join Barcelona instead of Real Madrid this summer, should they meet Man City's financial demands, which are suggested to be in the region of €60-70m.

With the prospect of Real Madrid losing out on a potential midfield signing and Man City losing a midfielder, albeit they did add Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest, could this prompt them to revisit their interest in Fernandez?

Either way, Chelsea will be calm about the situation. They have already added Jordan Henderson and Valentin Barco, and teammate Moises Caicedo has publicly stated it would be 'massive' if Fernandez were to stay.