Manchester City preparing opening bid for £120m-rated Enzo Fernandez

Manchester City are set to make an opening offer for Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez in the summer transfer window. Fernandez, 25, has been Chelsea's vice-captain since 2024 and is an Argentina international.

City manager Enzo Maresca has identified Fernandez as a priority target to strengthen Manchester City's midfield after a series of high-profile exits. Chelsea were aware of City's interest and set an unofficial deadline earlier this summer for any move at a minimum fee of £120m, but that date has passed. If a deal is completed, Fernandez would rank among the most expensive transfers in Premier League history, behind Liverpool's £125m signing of Alexander Isak last summer.

Fernandez maintains a positive relationship with Maresca, who left Chelsea in controversial fashion on New Year's Day and moved to the Etihad Stadium in June. The potential signing could represent a further major outlay for City in the same window, after the club paid £116m to recruit Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest. That sequence of arrivals follows a period of significant squad turnover in midfield.

There have been four notable midfield departures this summer: Tijjani Reijnders was sold to Saudi Arabian club Al-Qadsiah for £52m; Barcelona signed Rodri for £65m; Newcastle agreed a £52m deal to sign Nico Gonzalez; and Bernardo Silva departed earlier in the summer before joining Real Madrid. Those exits have been cited as a factor in City's search for reinforcements.

Fernandez's time at Stamford Bridge has been described as turbulent. His agent, former Paris St-Germain midfielder Javier Pastore, courted interest from Real Madrid only for the Spanish club to issue a statement denying any attempt to sign him, and the situation has been ongoing since Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions League by PSG in March, after which Fernandez became increasingly critical of the club.

New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso said in July he had held a private conversation with Fernandez but declined to disclose details. Fernandez came on as a second-half substitute in Monday's 3-2 win over Fulham and was booed by home supporters because of his role in England's World Cup exit; after briefly celebrating with the away fans and his team-mates after the final whistle, he was the first Chelsea player to head down the tunnel.

Chelsea's record sale remains Eden Hazard's move to Real Madrid in 2019, worth an initial £89m plus add-ons taking it up to a potential £150m. Manchester City are expected to return with another attempt to sign the 25-year-old before next week's transfer deadline.