AFCON 2025
Manchester City have struck an agreement with Chelsea to sign Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez, with the deal edging toward completion in the final hours of the summer transfer window. City officials opened direct talks with their Premier League rivals on Monday, moving quickly to finalise personal terms and a transfer fee before the deadline.
The World Cup-winning midfielder costs £125 million matching the British transfer record previously set by Alexander Isak’s move to Liverpool last summer.
Fernandez has already been given the green light to undergo a medical ahead of signing his City contract, according to multiple reports tracking the deal’s final stages. Journalist Fabrizio Romano confirmed the midfielder had reached a verbal agreement with Manchester City on personal terms, though he stressed that the transfer still hinged on club-to-club negotiations over price.
The move reunites the 25-year-old with Enzo Maresca, who managed him at Chelsea for 18 months before taking charge at the Etihad this summer. Fernandez’s future at Stamford Bridge had looked increasingly uncertain in recent weeks, with manager Xabi Alonso leaving him out of the matchday squad for Chelsea’s Carabao Cup win over Luton Town and again for Sunday’s clash with Brighton.
The deal represents City’s third major midfield investment of the summer, following the arrivals of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for £116 million and Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille for an initial €95 million. Pep Guardiola’s successor has overseen a significant rebuild in that department after the departures of Rodri, Kalvin Phillips, Nico Gonzalez and Tijjani Reijnders.
Fernandez joined Chelsea from Benfica in January 2023 for a then-British record fee, going on to make 169 appearances and score 31 goals across two and a half seasons. He was part of the Chelsea squad that won the Conference League and the Club World Cup, and he remains a regular fixture for Argentina’s senior national team.
