Manchester City have reportedly agreed a £125million deal to sign Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea.
The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported that the two clubs have come to terms on a fee that matches the British record Liverpool paid to Newcastle United to sign Alexander Isak on deadline day last year.
Fernandez has been given permission to travel to Manchester for a medical.
City’s pursuit of Fernandez has been one of the defining sagas of the transfer window, with the club determined to reunite former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca with the Argentina international to complete their midfield rebuild.
City end saga by completing midfield rebuild
Chelsea imposed a deadline of August 14 for City to lodge a bid for Fernandez meeting their £120m valuation and indicated they expected him to remain at Stamford Bridge after their Premier League rivals did not do so.
But City did not drop their interest in Fernandez, who, after making a substitute appearance in Chelsea’s season-opening win at Fulham, was left out of their EFL Cup victory over Luton Town and last Sunday’s defeat of Brighton and Hove Albion.
Now Fernandez will become City’s eighth signing of the transfer window and their midfield arrival as their engine room has been overhauled.
City paid £116m to sign Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest before bringing in Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille for £86m.
Former midfielder lynchpin Rodri left to join Barcelona, with Nico Gonzalez moving to Newcastle United and Bernardo Silva and Tijjani Reijnders signing for Real Madrid and Al Qadsiah respectively.
The signing of Fernandez is likely to be City’s last of another busy transfer window, but his exit leaves Chelsea with work to do ahead of the fast-approaching deadline.
Will Chelsea fill Fernandez void before deadline?
Fernandez joined Chelsea from Benfica in 2023 and developed into an instrumental player for the Blues.
He has scored 31 goals and provided 29 assists in his time at Stamford Bridge, a spell in which he won the Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup under Maresca.
Chelsea have thrived in their first three games under new head coach Xabi Alonso despite Fernandez only playing a cameo role in one.
They have scored nine goals as a front three of Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers has hit the ground running, though their five goals conceded across two league fixtures points to worrying defensive concerns.
Still, even with their strong start to the campaign, Chelsea will feel the need to quickly fill the void left by Fernandez, and two names have emerged as apparent targets.
Monaco’s Lamine Camara and Roma’s Manu Kone have both been linked with moves to Chelsea. However, Monaco are reported to have rejected two offers for Camara while Roma boss Gian Piero Gasperini is said to have blocked the departure of France international Kone, who caught the eye with his performances at the World Cup.
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