What Calum McFarlane said to make Enzo Fernandez laugh and Chelsea’s crucial £107m transfer lesson

Chelsea desperately needed a hero at Wembley Stadium. The dire run of form they have been in, the general turmoil behind the scenes over the last few days, the discontent from supporters – a world where the Blues comfortably beat Leeds United in the FA Cup semi-final was unimaginable.

But it didn’t need to be comfortable. The performance mattered to a point – Chelsea needed to put in something a lot better than what we witnessed in Brighton on Tuesday – but Sunday afternoon was more about the result at Wembley.

Chelsea needed a hero. Enzo Fernandez was the hero. ‘At least until the world stops going round,’ a lyric from Leeds’ iconic chant ‘Marching on Together’ read a tifo in the Whites’ end moments before the semi-final got underway. Such was the heartache when Fernandez scored, it might have, for a moment anyway, felt like the end of the world for those who had made the trip down from Yorkshire.

Fernandez has so often been the hero for the Blues; twice for Calum McFarlane in two of his three matches – spread across a couple of spells – as interim head coach. Fernandez is the hero; the big-game player; the sort of character Liam Rosenior, ironically, was crying out for.

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During his short tenure at Stamford Bridge, the former Chelsea head coach mentioned multiple times about his squad’s lack of mental fortitude. If Rosenior made it to the summer, he and the five-strong group of sporting directors were planning to scour the transfer market for players who could stand up to adversity. Players who won’t be susceptible to wilting under pressure.

In Fernandez, Chelsea have just that. So often when the west Londoners have needed him the most, the Argentina international has stood up and made himself counted.

Fernandez’s 23rd-minute header, the only goal of the game to secure Chelsea’s place in next month’s FA Cup final against Manchester City, was the 13th time he has found the back of the net in all competitions this season. Out of all 20 Premier League clubs, the only midfielder who has more goals to his name is Morgan Gibbs-White (16).

Back in McFarlane’s debut game as a manager/head coach in senior football, Fernandez rescued Chelsea a point away at Man City, with a 94th-minute goal. “I said to him (Fernandez) at the end, I said, ‘you like scoring at the back post for me’. And he just laughed,” said McFarlane in his post-match press conference on Sunday evening.

“He does that really well, he’s done it all year. It’s one of his biggest attributes, that when you attack down the right, his timing of his runs, his ability to actually get good distance and height on his jump and his heading technique is really good.

“He’s a winner, he’s got so much talent, he’s got so much fight, he’s massive for the group. And the best thing about Enzo is that he can do a bit of everything, but when it gets tough, you see the fight in him, you see him making tackles, you see him fighting for every loose ball. So he was exceptional today and deserved his Man of the Match.”

All of that was very well put by McFarlane. Chelsea could do with adding a few more Enzo Fernandez’s to their squad this summer, but with so much speculation over his future, there is at least a threat of a move away from Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea don’t want that to happen, sources say, but after his bombshell comments during the March international break, there are rumours that the days of the Blues regarding him as ‘untouchable’ have passed. It is understandable that is the case with Chelsea viewing his flirting with Real Madrid as unacceptable.

Whatever you think of Fernandez’s actions, there is no doubting his on-field importance to Chelsea. Whether that is under Enzo Maresca, Rosenior, McFarlane or whoever takes the head coach role on a permanent basis. Fernandez, as McFarlane said, has a winner’s mentality – something that is so desperately missing from the majority of the squad.

Perhaps Fernandez can let himself down at times, but nobody can question the Argentine’s passion. The images of Fernandez staring down the barrel of a gun on Tuesday night were quite stark. Post-match, Fernandez faced up to the furious away section and just stood still, staring, as he received some choice words from the fans still at the Amex Stadium.

It looked like an acceptance from Fernandez of Chelsea’s shortcomings. An acceptance of something needing to change. And of course, something did change less than 24 hours later.

Some will argue when the going got tough at Brighton, Fernandez, along with his team-mates, got going. The Argentina international at least took some responsibility and faced up to the fans with a sorry look on his face.

Just over 100 hours later, the blue half of a sun-bathed Wembley were chanting Fernandez’s name. It was recognition and their appreciation of a big-game player, a decisive player, who continues to help Chelsea in their moment of need.

Whether it’s the Conference League final, a last-gasp equaliser away at Manchester City or deciding the game at the country’s most iconic stadium, Fernandez continues to step up for the Blues. The 25-year-old midfielder has now scored 29 goals in all competitions for Chelsea in his three-and-a-bit years at the club; 10 of those goals have been either winners or equalisers (at some point in the game).

Fernandez has added goals to his game over the last two seasons for Chelsea and is becoming even more influential in matches. During his first half-season (Fernandez signed in January 2023), he failed to score for the Blues.

He opened his account for the west Londoners the following season and found the back of the net a respectable seven times over the course of the campaign. When fellow Enzo, Maresca, took over as head coach in the summer of 2024, Fernandez quickly became the No.10 for Chelsea to try and get the former Benfica midfielder, who signed for £107million – at the time, a British transfer record – in 2023, more involved in the final third.

It worked. Fernandez finished last term with nine goals altogether. This season, though, he has shifted up a gear; with 13 goals to his name, and five games still left to play, Fernandez has had a brilliant season.

“It (Fernandez’s goal scoring) is something we rely on a lot,” said McFarlane. “That’s why he’s changed position a lot over the last few years.

“He’s played deeper, he’s played as a No.10, he’s moved about, but I think he’s such a threat in the box that the higher up you play him, and he can drop down and he can drift, but the higher up you play him, he can really cause the opposition problems in that left half-space and attacking the back stick.”

If Real Madrid do come calling this summer, Chelsea should tell them where to go. BlueCo should want more Fernandez’s. They can’t afford to lose that winning mentality – let’s not forget he starred for Argentina in their World Cup triumph less than four years ago, winning FIFA’s Best Young Player award for his contributions in Qatar.

Sources say Fernandez is a key figure in the Chelsea dressing room and contributes with his leadership skills consistently. You can see that on the pitch as well. At one point during Sunday’s win over Leeds, Fernandez was screaming at Moises Caicedo to push up the pitch as Chelsea looked to squeeze Daniel Farke’s side.

If Fernandez kicks up a fuss and wants to leave, then it’s a different story. Chelsea will have to consider their options in that scenario. Javier Pastore, the former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder who is now Fernandez’s agent, said earlier this month that talks over a new contract at Stamford Bridge took place earlier this year but have since stalled.

Pastore said to The Athletic: “There have been talks about renewing his contract, yes. We started discussing it around December or January, but we couldn’t reach an agreement.

“As Enzo’s contract still has six years to run, we decided not to renew it because the terms weren’t right for us or for the player; given what Enzo is capable of today, he deserves much more than he’s currently earning.

“We haven’t reached an agreement and it may be that this annoyed the club, given that he is a hugely important player, but these are things that have to be managed. I look at the sporting and financial aspects of the player’s situation, and I didn’t see that renewal coming to fruition because they weren’t very realistic about Enzo’s current situation.

“We felt that rather than renewing on terms that wouldn’t make the player happy, it was better to leave things as they are and focus on playing and performing well, as they have important objectives until May: qualifying for the Champions League.

“We decided to put that out of our minds and focus 100 per cent on the crucial fixtures with Chelsea and also the World Cup with Argentina, which will demand a great amount of concentration. We don’t want to get into discussions about figures, contracts and negotiations when the timing wasn’t right.

“Our plan after the World Cup is to meet with Chelsea again and, if there is no agreement, to explore other options.”

Chelsea might be more willing and open to Fernandez’s terms once the season is over, particularly if he can continue to prove his worth to the club in the remaining matches of the season. More heroic performances like Sunday’s will surely force Chelsea’s hand, otherwise they could lose the midfielder and then be forced to try and sign a player just like him in the summer.

Will that be cheap? Absolutely not. Will that be difficult? Massively.