Manchester City have equalled the British transfer record with a £125m deal to sign Enzo Fernández from Chelsea, who were left raging after their attempts to replace the Argentina midfielder were dashed by Monaco reneging on an agreement to sell Lamine Camara last night.
On a day of twists and turns, City emerged in a strong position after they bolstered their attack by signing Iliman Ndiaye from Everton for up to £65m and landed one of Enzo Maresca’s biggest targets on a five-year deal. Chelsea held out for a huge fee for Fernández and it seemed they were going to find a replacement for him as the transfer window drew to a close.
The club moved to agree a £47m fee with Monaco for Camara, who was set to sign a six-year contract with the option of an extra year. Chelsea swooped when Everton’s attempts to sign the USA striker Folarin Balogun ran into difficulties. It left Monaco needing to raise funds from elsewhere, prompting Chelsea to revive their move for Camara after having a £38.1m offer for the 22-year-old Senegal midfielder rejected earlier in the day.
Chelsea had a written agreement with Monaco but were stunned by the Ligue 1 club pulling out of the deal as the deadline approached. Sources called Monaco’s conduct “deeply unprofessional”. As an extraordinary situation developed it emerged that Everton, who have also loaned Jack Grealish from City, had refused to give up on Balogun, renegotiating the fee for the former Arsenal forward only for that deal to also fall down just after midnight.
The collapse of Camara’s move did not lead to Chelsea cancelling the sale of Fernández to City. The deal means City have spent £327m on midfielders this summer following the arrivals of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for £116m and Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille for £86m.
“I could not be happier to be here, and I am ready for the challenge of helping City continue winning trophies. This is a club built for success,” said Fernández, who becomes this country’s most expensive player alongside Alexander Isak, who joined Liverpool from Newcastle for £125m a year ago. “I pride myself on continually improving my game. Anyone who’s worked with me will know how hard I train every single day and how much I put into matches. I give absolutely everything and I can promise Manchester City that will continue now I’m here.”
Maresca has a good relationship with Fernández after coaching him at Chelsea and a reunion has been on the cards for a while. City opened talks with Chelsea on Monday night and will feel they have successfully rebuilt their midfield after selling Rodri to Barcelona and losing Bernardo Silva to Real Madrid, while also selling Nico González to Newcastle. They were also not put off even after Chelsea’s unofficial deadline for clubs to lodge bids of £120m for Fernández passed last month.
Fernández has been angling for a way out of Chelsea since March and his departure was announced in a short statement on the club’s website. The 25-year-old, who scored 31 goals after joining from Benfica for £106.7m in January 2023, initially had his sights set on joining Real Madrid. He grew disillusioned following Maresca’s acrimonious split with Chelsea earlier this year. Fernández, the unofficial vice-captain, spoke out after Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain in March. Chelsea responded by banning him for two games.
Fernández reported back to training after the World Cup and was booed by Chelsea fans during a pre-season friendly against Real Sociedad at Stamford Bridge. He featured in the club’s opening first game of the season, coming off the bench to help Xabi Alonso’s side beat Fulham, but was left out of Chelsea’s next two fixtures.
Chelsea came round to the view a sale was in their interests. There is a feeling within the club that Fernández, who won the Conference League and Club World Cup during his time in west London, had not shown himself to be vice-captain material.
