{"id":21720,"date":"2026-07-26T22:25:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T22:25:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=21720"},"modified":"2026-07-26T22:25:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T22:25:56","slug":"manchester-city-prepare-double-chelsea-raid-for-two-maresca-favourites-read-chelsea-f-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=21720","title":{"rendered":"Manchester City prepare double Chelsea raid for two Maresca favourites &#8211; Read Chelsea F.C."},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Manchester City interest in Enzo Fernandez and Malo Gusto remains active as Enzo Maresca considers a double raid on his former club. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Neither transfer is currently advanced, but City could increase contact once both Chelsea players return from their post-World Cup breaks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maresca has already overseen the \u00a3116million signing of Elliot Anderson. However, City reportedly want another midfielder as Rodri recovers from a back injury and considers his long-term future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fern\u00e1ndez has emerged as a leading option because of his passing range, energy and previous relationship with Maresca at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udea8 \ud835\udc01\ud835\udc11\ud835\udc04\ud835\udc00\ud835\udc0a\ud835\udc08\ud835\udc0d\ud835\udc06: Man City are \ud835\ude3e\ud835\ude4a\ud835\ude49\ud835\ude4e\ud835\ude44\ud835\ude3f\ud835\ude40\ud835\ude4d\ud835\ude44\ud835\ude49\ud835\ude42 Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez as a midfield option this summer, with interest at an early stage, according to @theathleticfc \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddf7 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bepgF4gugU\">pic.twitter.com\/bepgF4gugU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 433 (@433) April 23, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Manchester City interest in Enzo Fernandez and Malo Gusto explained<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to CaughtOffside, Chelsea could demand as much as \u00a3120million for Fern\u00e1ndez. City would prefer to negotiate a package below \u00a3100million, leaving a considerable gap between the two clubs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fern\u00e1ndez remains under contract until 2032, so Chelsea face no pressure to accept a reduced offer. Xabi Alonso also has limited reason to lose an established midfielder after beginning his first pre-season programme.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">City are also expected to revisit their interest in Gusto. Previous contact did not progress, while Chelsea have placed a substantial valuation on the France international.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maresca reportedly prefers a natural right-back rather than continuing to use Matheus Nunes out of position. Gusto\u2019s pace and attacking movement would suit City\u2019s possession-heavy approach.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chelsea\u2019s latest transfer overview highlighted the need to balance further signings with departures. Fern\u00e1ndez and Gusto remain valuable members of Alonso\u2019s squad, while their long contracts strengthen the club\u2019s negotiating position.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Manchester City interest in Enzo Fernandez and Malo Gusto should therefore be monitored, but no offers or advanced negotiations have been reported.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Manchester City interest in Enzo Fernandez and Malo Gusto remains active as Enzo Maresca considers&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21720","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\/21720","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=21720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21720\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}