The Chelsea Football Club self-imposed deadline for selling Enzo Fernandez, at the firm price of £120 million, came and went a week ago yesterday. Chelsea had no takers for the Argentinian midfielder, and now both his role and his future with the club remains in doubt. According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Manchester City are understood to still be interested, and there is a slot for available at the Etihad, given the side’s midfield makeover this summer, but it remains to be seen if the two clubs can get a big money deal like this over the line between now and transfer window deadline day.
Premier League Season Opener FYIs
Fulham Road Derby: Chelsea at Fulham
Chelsea Team Preview Material: Team News Predicted XI
Result Probability According to Google: Chelsea win 51% Draw 24% Fulham win 25%
Kickoff: Monday, August 24 8pm, Craven Cottage, London, UK
New manager Xabi Alonso would not answer reporter questions about whether or not Enzo wants to stay, but he did praise Fernandez’s attitude and outlook ahead of the start of the new season.
“Enzo is a Chelsea player,” Alonso told the press. “He is a top, top player. He’s training really well since he started 10 days ago with the team, very integrated, and we are happy with him, and he’s getting ready for Monday.”
As Alonso just verified there, Enzo Fernandez remains a Chelsea player. However, he was suspended by the club, this past spring, due to his openly pining for a move away.
Given how strongly he has been linked with an exit this summer, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens in these final 9 days of the window.
Chelsea Predicted Starting XI vs Fulham FC
Robert Sanchez; Reece James, Maxence Lacroix, Levi Colwill; Pedro Neto, Romeo Lavia, Moises Caicedo, Marco Palestra; Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers; Joao Pedro
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.