Manchester City are close to agreeing a £120m deal to sign Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea.
The 25-year-old midfielder will become City’s record signing if add-ons are met, but the base fee for the Argentina international is lower than the £116m fee City paid Nottingham Forest for Elliot Anderson earlier in the transfer window.
Fernandez was not in Chelsea’s squad to face Luton Town in the Carabao Cup, despite manager Xabi Alonso saying the previous day that he expected the midfielder to be involved, and he is set to be reunited with Enzo Maresca at the Etihad.
Fernandez has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester City since the World Cup and Maresca’s side were always expected to return with an offer for the Argentina international despite missing an informal deadline earlier this month.
It means City will have spent around £300m on midfielders this summer in what has been a complete overhaul following the departure of Pep Guardiola, whose exit was followed by those of Rodri and Bernardo Silva.
City have also recouped around £100m for selling Tijjani Reijnders to Saudi Pro League club Al-Qadsiah and Nico Gonzalez to Newcastle. Maresca’s side also added the signing of 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi for £86m following the arrival of Anderson.
The Independent understands Chelsea are prepared to go back to Bournemouth for midfielder Alex Scott after selling Fernandez. The Cherries have so far shut down any interest, but there’s a belief a bid in excess of £80m, and probably closer to £90m, might bring reconsideration.
Alonso named a strong team to face Luton, selecting both Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers, but Fernandez was notably absent from the squad despite the new Chelsea manager saying he expected Fernandez to be included on Wednesday.
“We assessed situations, individual and collective and we have decided he is not in the squad for today,” Alonso told Sky Sports before facing Luton, which was Chelsea’s first competitive home game of the new season.
Fernandez featured off the bench for Chelsea in their Premier League opener at Fulham on Monday and was booed by the home fans at Craven Cottage for his role in the Argentina’s World Cup semi-final win over England.
Fernandez received a comparatively warm reception from Chelsea supporters when he came on, having been previously booed during a friendly against Real Sociedad at Stamford Bridge before the start of the season.
Asked whether he would like to keep Fernandez before the Luton match, Alonso added: “We want to have the best team possible. We know his qualities. He has shown it and we have to wait, but we will think about tomorrow and let’s see how things develop.”
