Chelsea have set a strict deadline for Manchester City to meet their valuation of Enzo Fernandez, giving the club until five o’clock on Friday to submit an offer of £120 million or more for the Argentine midfielder. The Blues are said to be standing firm on the figure, even though they originally signed the twenty five year old from Benfica for around one hundred and seven million pounds back in 2023.

Fernandez has been at the centre of transfer speculation since March, when he first floated the possibility of a move to Real Madrid. His agent later claimed the midfielder felt underpaid and wanted to leave following a difficult campaign in which Chelsea finished tenth in the Premier League and ended the season without a trophy after losing the FA Cup final to Manchester City.

Real Madrid have since publicly denied any interest in signing him, leaving City, managed by former Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca, as the only known suitor still in the picture.

Chelsea are understood to have set the deadline to draw a line under the uncertainty before the new season begins, having already given interested parties close to two months to complete a deal at what they consider a fair price. New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has reportedly held discussions with Fernandez about his future, though details of those conversations have not been made public.

The club has made clear that, should no acceptable offer arrive in time, they are prepared to fully reintegrate the midfielder into the first team squad for the upcoming campaign.

It remains uncertain whether Manchester City will move to meet Chelsea’s asking price, given they are also said to be pursuing Lille’s Ayoub Bouaddi as an alternative midfield target. Relations between the two clubs have reportedly been strained since Maresca’s abrupt departure from Stamford Bridge at the turn of the year, a factor that may be shaping how the current

Fernandez had a productive season for Chelsea despite the club’s struggles, scoring fifteen goals and providing seven assists in fifty four appearances, before helping Argentina reach the World Cup final, where he was sent off in their defeat to Spain.

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