Chelsea expects midfielder Enzo Fernandez to remain with the club this season after Manchester City did not make a bid by a reported deadline of £120 million.
Manažer Pep Guardiola's City team has been linked with Fernandez, who has played in various midfield roles for Chelsea. Under former manager Enzo Maresca, who is now at City, Fernandez captained Chelsea and played in 79 of his 92 games. Maresca often deployed him further forward when Cole Palmer was unavailable, leading to a career-best 15 goals last season.
Fernandez's relationship with Chelsea reportedly soured after Maresca's departure in January. In March, he was critical of the club following a Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain and expressed a desire to move to Madrid. These comments led to Chelsea dropping him for two matches.
Real Madrid announced in May that they would not be signing Fernandez, leaving City as the primary contender. However, City is reportedly exploring other midfield targets, including Lille's Ayyoub Bouaddi, Bournemouth's Alex Scott, and Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister, should a deal for Fernandez not materialize. Manažer Enzo Maresca has previously worked with Fernandez, making him Chelsea captain when Reece James was injured and featuring him frequently. The Argentine midfielder can play defensively or further up the pitch, offering flexibility that would also be present with the recent signing of midfielder Jack Anderson from Forest. Maresca's City team also signed England midfielder Anderson from Forest this summer. Anderson, like Fernandez, has experience in multiple midfield positions, both defensive and offensive, which could allow them to play together and provide Maresca with tactical options.