Alexander Isak’s protracted £125m move to Liverpool dominated final summer season’s switch window and there are indicators that Manchester City‘s pursuit of Enzo Fernandez may observe the same sample.
Chelsea agreed with the Argentina midfielder’s agent Javier Pastore in late May that Fernandez may go away the membership for £120m – however put a deadline of 14 August for any bids.
Now that final Friday’s deadline handed with none formal provides, the Blues have informed Fernandez’s camp that the participant shouldn’t be on the market in this switch window.
But, as final summer season’s Isak saga confirmed, it’s not often that straightforward. The Sweden striker lastly clinched his British document switch move to Liverpool on switch deadline day after weeks of Newcastle United insisting he was not on the market.
Twelve months on, the Fernandez uncertainty shouldn’t be going away.
Manchester City, managed by Fernandez’s former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, are nonetheless eager to signal the 25-year-old and imagine the London membership nonetheless need to do a deal.
City, who’re additionally in superior talks a couple of £85m deal for Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, need to bolster their midfield after Rodri agreed a move to Barcelona and Bernardo Silva left when his contract expired.
They have already signed midfielder Elliot Anderson for a club-record £116m from Nottingham Forest, winger Jeremy Monga from Leicester City for £12.5m and goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli from Marseille for £1.7m.
If Fernandez and Bouaddi be a part of, it means Maresca will probably to have overseen a complete spend of greater than £330m.
A bit of that outlay might be funded by the gross sales of Rodri and James Trafford in addition to the probably departures of Tijjani Reijnders and Savinho. The exits of Silva, John Stones and Nathan Ake have decreased the wage invoice too.
Reports from Spain counsel Chelsea stay privately open to promoting Fernandez and that the membership have appointed high-profile agent Jorge Mendes, who additionally represents winger Pedro Neto, to resolve the state of affairs.
Fernandez tried and failed to safe a move to Real Madrid earlier in the summertime – regardless of the membership later denying any curiosity – and the state of affairs is additional difficult by his relationship with Chelsea‘s followers.
There have been audible jeers when he got here on in Saturday’s 3-1 pleasant win over Real Sociedad, though others responded with cheers. There was the same blended response each time he touched the ball.
Chelsea stay assured the midfielder might be reintegrated again into the squad and made a present of intent by giving him the captain’s armband when he changed Reece James final weekend.
However doubt stays over whether or not Fernandez will keep, and there may be concern concerning the disruption such a late switch would create, not least if new supervisor Xabi Alonso wished to recruit a alternative.