Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City shut down by club sources amid Elliot Anderson interest | OneFootball

Manchester City sources are reportedly shutting down any suggestion of the club pursuing a deal for Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez this summer.

Speculation concerning the next phase of City’s rebuild comes just three days after the final whistle blew on a dramatic Premier League campaign and 48 hours after Pep Guardiola’s final farewell to English football.

With incoming manager Enzo Maresca and sporting director Hugo Viana beginning work on plans for the summer market, the club is seemingly moving with intent to sculpt its post-Guardiola squad.

Those plans come after a season that yielded another domestic cup double, but saw the Premier League crown slip away to Arsenal, and the Etihad Stadium hierarchy are seemingly determined to regain England’s top prize at the earliest opportunity.

Man City interest in Enzo Fernandez played down

Now, according to MailSport’s Jack Gaughan, Manchester City sources are maintaining that the club are not looking to pursue a deal for Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez – despite the Argentine’s close relationship with incoming Etihad Stadium manager Enzo Maresca.

It had been suggested in various reports that the Stamford Bridge vice-captain had been shortlisted by those within Manchester City as a serious option for the central midfield positions this summer.

However, City are said to be prioritising a move for Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson, who is believed to favour a switch to the Etihad Stadium over other suitors, including rivals Manchester United.

However, the City Ground club’s owner Evangelos Marinakis is said to value the 23-year-old central midfielder at more than £100 million, with no agreement in place between the two clubs at this stage.

A stand-off over Elliot Anderson?

The £100 million-plus price tag set by Marinakis will certainly test Manchester City’s financial resolve and patience as the summer window officially opens in mid-June, whilst Anderson’s campaign at the City Ground has established him as one of Europe’s most coveted assets.

While the player’s clear preference for the Etihad Stadium gives Hugo Viana the edge in club-to-club discussions, history proves Manchester City are entirely willing to walk away from deals if valuations become fundamentally unrealistic.

Last summer alone saw the club remove themselves from the chase to sign Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz before his move to Liverpool, as well as Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White – who ended up staying at the City Ground alongside Anderson.

Should negotiations for Elliot Anderson hit a standstill over an asking price, the recruitment team will rapidly pivot to secondary targets to avoid leaving Enzo Maresca short-handed for pre-season.

However, there also remains the possibility that whilst the club would not want to wait for Anderson, they may be willing to bide their time if the end result meant the former Newcastle starlet ended up in Sky Blue come the start of the Premier League season in late August.