{"id":17137,"date":"2026-07-14T05:21:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T05:21:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=17137"},"modified":"2026-07-14T05:21:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T05:21:47","slug":"xabi-alonso-confirms-enzo-fernandez-conversation-and-hints-at-another-chelsea-departure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=17137","title":{"rendered":"Xabi Alonso confirms Enzo Fernandez conversation and hints at another Chelsea departure"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"main\">\n<div class=\"hydrate-root sc-1ihz57b-0\" data-component=\"Newsletter\" data-loading=\"lazy\" data-theme-name=\"independent\">\n<div data-theme-wrapper=\"independent\" style=\"display:contents\">\n<aside class=\"sc-y4bm30-0 jwWhkK newsletter-component sc-1ge0fwe-0\" data-newsletter-key=\"receiveCopaFootball\">\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-2 kcLSBk\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/static-assets\/images\/newsletters\/worldCup1-1.png\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"World Cup Insider\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE\"\/><\/div>\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-1 inRDZn\">\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-3\">\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-4 hfveGa\">\n<p><h3 class=\"sc-y4bm30-5 sc-y4bm30-6 fvoxRM cLEJmn\">Get daily World Cup briefings from our writers across North America \u2013 plus more from Inside Sport after the tournament<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"sc-y4bm30-5 sc-y4bm30-8 fvoxRM iTZFOX\">Get our free World Cup briefing and sport email<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"sc-y4bm30-5 sc-y4bm30-7 fvoxRM iGYpOF\">Get our free World Cup briefing and sport email<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"sc-eaj12q-0 loKJGs sc-culv3z-0 eifaJK sc-1ix0cah-0 PYnPb sc-y4bm30-10 fUEDPX\" viewbox=\"0 0 32 32\"><use href=\"#600f53465147d717\"\/><\/svg><\/div>\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-2 kcLSBk sc-y4bm30-9 iQYNfz\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/static-assets\/images\/newsletters\/worldCup1-1.png\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"World Cup Insider\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Xabi Alonso has confirmed he has spoken to Enzo Fernandez since Real Madrid denied holding interest in the Chelsea midfielder, who previously appeared to be gunning for a move away.<\/p>\n<p>Fernandez has been at the World Cup with Argentina and has not yet met face-to-face with the new Blues boss, but was the subject of an extraordinary statement from the Spanish giants when they shut down reports linking the 25-year-old with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu.<\/p>\n<p>In April, Fernandez expressed an interest in Madrid amid uncertainty over his future, which led to Chelsea internally suspending him for two games under Liam Rosenior.<\/p>\n<p>And while his next steps remain up in the air, new Chelsea manager Alonso has revealed that contact has been made with the midfielder.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-awdjp1-2 cbpRGD sc-awdjp1-3 image align-center\">\n<figure class=\"sc-1cbdeug-0 cXcwgU\">\n<div data-gallery-length=\"3\" class=\"sc-awdjp1-0 cZyUKQ\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/05\/27\/21\/24156af7001cda8fd8573051cd105e0fY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzgwMDAwMjc2-2.84677444.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/05\/27\/21\/24156af7001cda8fd8573051cd105e0fY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzgwMDAwMjc2-2.84677444.jpg?quality=75&amp;width=320&amp;auto=webp 320w, https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/05\/27\/21\/24156af7001cda8fd8573051cd105e0fY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzgwMDAwMjc2-2.84677444.jpg?quality=75&amp;width=640&amp;auto=webp 640w\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Enzo Fernandez has spoken to new Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"sc-1cbdeug-1 sc-1cbdeug-3 YlsWU hgzWpY\">Enzo Fernandez has spoken to new Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso<span class=\"sc-1cbdeug-7 gjqsiM\"> <!-- -->(<!-- -->PA Wire<!-- -->)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u200a\u201cYes, we have spoken, but as you can understand, what we have spoken remains private,\u201d Alonso said in his unveiling press conference at Stamford Bridge, the first one held at Chelsea\u2019s stadium since under Mauricio Pochettino. \u201cBut yes, we have spoken.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alonso was then asked if he wanted to keep Fernandez next season, to which he replied: \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-awdjp1-2 cbpRGD sc-awdjp1-3 image align-center\">\n<figure class=\"sc-1cbdeug-0 cXcwgU\">\n<div data-gallery-length=\"3\" class=\"sc-awdjp1-0 hGtVGM\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/07\/13\/16\/afc84489c13f3a75ab8c308d759e5abfY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzg0MDM5NzU2-2.85291359.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/07\/13\/16\/afc84489c13f3a75ab8c308d759e5abfY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzg0MDM5NzU2-2.85291359.jpg?quality=75&amp;width=320&amp;auto=webp 320w, https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/07\/13\/16\/afc84489c13f3a75ab8c308d759e5abfY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzg0MDM5NzU2-2.85291359.jpg?quality=75&amp;width=640&amp;auto=webp 640w\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Xabi Alonso wants to keep Fernandez\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"sc-1cbdeug-1 sc-1cbdeug-3 YlsWU hgzWpY\">Xabi Alonso wants to keep Fernandez<span class=\"sc-1cbdeug-7 gjqsiM\"> <!-- -->(<!-- -->PA Wire<!-- -->)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Chelsea have already sanctioned the sale of left-back Marc Cucurella to Real Madrid, who sacked Alonso in January, for an initial initial \u00a347.4m and on Monday afternoon confirmed the \u00a348m departure of midfielder Andrey Santos to Premier League rivals Manchester United.<\/p>\n<p>And another may soon be heading out the door, with Fernandez\u2019s compatriot Alejandro Garnacho was not present for Alonso\u2019s first training session.<\/p>\n<p>Alonso confirmed that Garnacho has been subject to interest from other clubs.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-awdjp1-2 cbpRGD sc-awdjp1-3 image align-center\">\n<figure class=\"sc-1cbdeug-0 cXcwgU\">\n<div data-gallery-length=\"3\" class=\"sc-awdjp1-0 kjvrMR\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/07\/13\/16\/2276545788..\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/07\/13\/16\/2276545788..?quality=75&amp;width=320&amp;auto=webp 320w, https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/07\/13\/16\/2276545788..?quality=75&amp;width=640&amp;auto=webp 640w\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Alonso confirmed there is interest from Alejandro Garnacho in other clubs\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"sc-1cbdeug-1 sc-1cbdeug-3 YlsWU hgzWpY\">Alonso confirmed there is interest from Alejandro Garnacho in other clubs<span class=\"sc-1cbdeug-7 gjqsiM\"> <!-- -->(<!-- -->Getty<!-- -->)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201dThe situation (is) that we have spoken with the sport directors and there\u2019s an interest for him from other clubs,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet&#8217;s see how it develops, but hopefully it finishes in the best possible way for all the parties.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Nicolas Jackson is back from his loan spell at Bayern Munich and will be given a chance to prove himself, with Alonso still assessing his squad.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe&#8217;s joining in the tour that we are starting in Asia, and we\u2019re looking forward to start with Nico at that time,\u201d Alonso added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Get daily World Cup briefings from our writers across North America \u2013 plus more from&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17137\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}