Enzo Fernandez’s last dance?! Chelsea’s £107m man can salvage his legacy by delivering FA Cup parting gift in Wembley showdown with transfer suitors Man City
That grit, fight and winning mentality are big parts of the reason why many Chelsea fans will be desperately hoping that this isn’t Fernandez’s swan song. Without him, they would be even worse off this season, and the prospect of an inexperienced squad being shorn of one of its few leaders going forward is cause for real alarm.
There is a sliver of hope, though, that he could yet stay; amid the fallout of his two-game suspension, Enzo’s agent Javier Pastore revealed that talks have been held over a new contractalbeit they have been unsuccessful to date. The former PSG playmaker told The Athletic his client is open to staying if his terms are met, but if an agreement isn’t reached after the upcoming World Cup, Fernandez will “explore other options”.
“We started discussing it around December or January, but we couldn’t reach an agreement,” Pastore said. “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.”
However, the agent also hinted about a possible breakdown in the player’s relationship with the club’s decision-makers. “There are other factors that influence decisions, whether it’s salary, respect, or the way things are handled… There are so many things that we aren’t seeing at the moment – or at least I, as an agent, am not seeing – that suggest the club is not handling things in the best possible way with him.”
There is a possibility, then, that this story isn’t over – and the appointment of a revered young coach and former midfielder like current frontrunner Xabi Alonso could go some way to convincing Fernandez to stay…
