Manchester City agree £125m fee for Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez
Manchester City and Chelsea agreed a joint-British transfer record fee of £125m for Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez between Premier League clubs on 1 September 2026, the clubs announced. The transfer agreement follows 24 hours of negotiations between the two clubs.
Fernandez, who has won 49 caps for Argentina, joined Chelsea from Benfica in 2023 for a then-British record fee of £107m. The £125m figure matches the sum Liverpool paid for Alexander Isak on the same day last summer. Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca previously worked with Fernandez at Chelsea and is reported to be keen to reunite with him after losing a number of midfielders this summer.
Fernandez did not feature in Chelsea’s 4-3 Premier League win over Brighton or their 2-0 Carabao Cup victory against Luton, with reports in Argentina suggesting he asked not to be included in those squads. He had been pushing to leave Chelsea since March; Chelsea had hoped to retain him earlier in the window. Reports say Fernandez had targeted a move to Real Madrid, but the Spanish club issued a statement ruling out making an offer.
The deal represents the second instance this summer in which City have broken their own transfer record, following the £116m signing of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest. Fernandez is the fourth player to move to a Premier League club for a fee of at least £100m this summer, after Morgan Rogers (£117m) to Chelsea, Bradley Barcola to Liverpool (£123m) and Anderson to City. Everton have also agreed to re-sign Jack Grealish on loan from Manchester City.
Manchester City’s midfield departures this summer include Tijjani Reijnders, who joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Qadsiah for £52m; Rodri, who moved to Barcelona for £65m; and Nico Gonzalez, who went to Newcastle for £52m, while Bernardo Silva left earlier in the window and joined Real Madrid as a free agent. City have sold Savio to Tottenham for £75m and will receive a further £60m from the London club next summer when Omar Marmoush’s loan is made permanent.
City’s incoming signings this summer include 18-year-old Ayoub Bouaddi from Lille for £86m and Brazilian winger Allan Elias for £34m, along with winger Jeremy Monga and goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli for smaller fees. The club’s total summer spending could increase further after agreeing a deal worth up to £65m for Everton winger Iliman Ndiaye.
For Chelsea the sale of Fernandez is their second-biggest outright transfer after Eden Hazard’s move to Real Madrid in 2019 and will contribute to what is set to be a Premier League record for income generated from player sales. Fernandez’s departure, together with Nicolas Jackson’s £65m move to Aston Villa and Liam Delap’s £50m transfer to Nottingham Forest, has helped push Chelsea’s summer sales to an expected total of over £400m, up from around £300m the previous season; the club have said they needed to trim the squad after finishing 10th and being out of European competition last season and ending the campaign without a trophy.
Fernandez will undergo a medical ahead of signing a long-term contract at Manchester City, with the clubs indicating that personal terms will not be an issue.
