Manchester Metropolis have agreed a £125million deal to signal Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez, with Enzo Maresca lastly set to safe his prime goal from his former employers on deadline day.
It equals the British switch document which was paid to Newcastle by Liverpool for Alexander Isak final summer season, and marks the top of a saga which has dominated this window.
Metropolis waited till the ultimate two days of the window to provoke club-to-club contact, although their curiosity within the 25-year-old Argentinian has been recognized all summer season.
Fernandez had been pushing to be reunited with Maresca since studying of Metropolis’s curiosity.
Chelsea initially tried to speed up Metropolis’s chase by creating their very own deadline for bids by Friday August 14 at 5pm. That was for a £120m switch and the phrases have been communicated to their Premier League counterparts by way of Fernandez’s representatives. Chelsea’s hope was that it will give them ample time to interchange their 2022 World Cup-winning midfielder.
Manchester Metropolis have reached an settlement with Chelsea for the signing of Enzo Fernandez
Nevertheless, Metropolis didn’t play together with Chelsea’s mock deadline. No supply was submitted, and people inside Stamford Bridge claimed they ‘anticipated’ Fernandez to stick with them for 2026-27.
He was even handed the captain’s armband when he appeared instead of their remaining pleasant at residence to Actual Sociedad. Fernandez appeared of their Premier League opener at Fulham instead, and whereas the house followers inside Craven Cottage booed him, the away finish welcomed him warmly. These Chelsea supporters even chanted his identify.
Fernandez educated along with his team-mates, however then disappeared.
Following talks with Xabi Alonso, he was not concerned of their Carabao Cup win over Luton, or of their Premier League victory towards Brighton. Alonso insisted publicly it was his resolution after talking with the participant, however did add he chosen a squad that had the ‘want to play’.
Maresca had an excellent relationship with Fernandez at Chelsea, the place he typically wore the captain’s armband within the absence of Reece James. Maresca additionally handed him that armband barely a month after the Argentinian was accused of singing a racist tune following his nation’s 2024 Copa America triumph. That was in Chelsea’s Premier League opener at residence to Metropolis.
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