Enzo Fernandez to Man City: A transfer Chelsea can’t afford to accept
Chelsea are officially in turmoil and it has now emerged that Enzo Fernandez is on Manchester City’s transfer shortlist ahead of the 2026 summer window.
The Blues are on the hunt for their fifth permanent manager of the BlueCo era, following the sacking of Liam Rosenior after just 23 games in charge, and the next few months will be incredibly important for the short and long term future of the club.
Simply put, get the next managerial appointment and the summer window wrong, and Chelsea may never recover under their Clearlake Capital ownership. Unfortunately for Blues fans, four years of evidence suggests the right decisions are unlikely to be made.
Chelsea need an experienced manager at the helm and they need to add proven quality to their playing squad – two things that could be immensely difficult to achieve if they fail to qualify for European football of any kind, which is now a real possibility.
They possess an immature team in desperate need of a guiding hand and several players who simply aren’t at the level required for a club with aspirations of consistently winning major honours.
Enzo Fernandez isn’t one of those players, though.
The Argentina international has been an integral player since his arrival from Benfica and although he is arguably yet to justify his ludicrously lofty price tag of €121 million, he isn’t someone Chelsea should be looking to replace. He is one of the most sellable assets, granted, but sanctioning a move to Man City shouldn’t be permitted.
Why Chelsea can’t afford to sell Enzo Fernandez to Man City
The Athletic have confirmed that Fernandez is being monitored by the Man City hierarchy ahead of this summer, with Pep Guardiola’s side set to sign at least one new central midfielder due to the imminent departure of Bernardo Silva on a Bosman deal.
Nottingham Forest star Elliot Anderson is regarded as their top target, but Fernandez is also wanted by the eight-time Premier League champions as they look to replace one of their best ever players.
It’s no surprise either. Fernandez arguably hasn’t been given the perfect surroundings to thrive at Chelsea, but there’s reason to believe he would help City maintain their immense control in games, in a similar fashion to Bernardo, while also adding goals when arriving late into the box, just like Ilkay Gundogan did in his prime.
In many ways, a midfield trio of Rodri, Fernandez and Rayan Cherki would be ideal for how City like to play.
Furthermore, links with Fernandez have fuelled rumours that Enzo Maresca could be set to replace Guardiola at the helm this summer. The Italian is understood to be the frontrunner for the job, having previously worked as Guardiola’s assistant, and signing his former Chelsea favourite Fernandez would help Maresca deliver his preferred style of play at Man City.
However, Chelsea can’t sanction a transfer. Selling Fernandez abroad, to Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain, wouldn’t be the worst idea if they can attract a significant offer – due to the fact he doesn’t really suit playing in a midfield three with Moises Caicedo and Cole Palmer – but Chelsea can’t allow him to join Man City.
The Chelsea hierarchy have aspirations of winning the Premier League title and selling one of your best players to a direct rival sends an awful message.
Arsenal did it for years during the early era of Sheikh Mansour’s reign at the Etihad Stadium – with Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy all being sold to Man City – and it’s an avenue that Chelsea would be best served avoiding.
The Blues’ strategy only works if the best players stick around and offloading Fernandez to Man City, or any other top Premier League club, would derail the entire project even further. Instead, Chelsea must aim to keep Fernandez, if he opts against handing in a transfer request, and ensure they add a number of proven stars capable of narrowing the huge gap that is currently between themselves and England’s elite.
Strengthening Man City’s squad simply shouldn’t be an option under consideration.
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