Chelsea 2-0 Luton: Enzo Fernandez’s absence signals he is Man City-bound – but Xabi Alonso did not need him here – as Mike Penders shows his potential ahead of Emiliano Martinez’s £7.5m arrival
We love a transfer update in today’s world of club-to-club talks and verbal agreements and sources whispering this and that, but there is nothing quite as clear as a surprise absentee on a match day.
It smacks of something happening behind the scenes, and Manchester City target Enzo Fernandez was nowhere to be seen at Stamford Bridge, neither in the team nor on the bench nor in the stands supporting his team-mates in this Carabao Cup clash.
That was despite Xabi Alonso telling us a day previous that he intended on using him against League One visitors Luton. Chelsea did not need him. They won by two goals, with Danny Welbeck scoring and Hakeem Odoffin sending Estevao Willian’s shot into his own net. They arguably should have won by six with the chances that Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers had.
We will never know whether Chelsea’s home fans would have embraced Fernandez as warmly as their away counterparts did in their Premier League win at Fulham earlier this week.
Those travelling supporters at Craven Cottage applauded him, sang his name, showed why they would like him to stay. They showered him with more love than he arguably deserved after a summer of such noise. Fernandez has millions of followers on social media. It would take only a single post for him to reaffirm his commitment to Chelsea and quieten that commotion if he wanted.
He has not done that, and now he has been left out of a squad for a match that his manager said he wanted to use him in. Chelsea declined to comment on his absence as a club, including when asked if he requested not to feature against Jack Wilshere’s visiting side.
Enzo Fernandez looks set to join Manchester City after being omitted from Chelsea’s squad
In his absence, Danny Welbeck scored Chelsea’s opener as they beat Luton 2-0 on Thursday
Estevao thought he scored Chelsea’s second but it went down as a Hakeem Odoffin own goal
However, City want Fernandez, and Fernandez wants City. We are 74 days into this summer window and he has not yet been reunited with Enzo Maresca. That is largely because City left it so late to make a serious play for him with his £120million valuation. But as we approach September 1, it is looking increasingly likely that he will be City’s and Maresca’s soon.
Fernandez’s Argentinian team-mate Valentin Barco started here – and was booed by Luton fans for his behaviour at the World Cup – but Chelsea will need to replace Fernandez. Whether that is with an Alex Scott from Bournemouth or an Adam Wharton from Crystal Palace, we will see.
Mike Penders is Chelsea’s future, but Emi Martinez is what the Blues need now to be elite
All summer, Chelsea insisted they were not interested in signing a new goalkeeper and that they were perfectly happy with Robert Sanchez and Mike Penders as their one-two.
When linked with Mike Maignan of AC Milan, you would hear the above. When linked with Diogo Costa of Porto, the above again. However, it was while Sanchez and Penders were warming up for this Carabao Cup clash that we received word how Emiliano Martinez was signing from Aston Villa, a fee of £7.5m having been agreed for the Argentinian who turns 34 next week.
Martinez is viewed by many as an upgrade on Sanchez, who may now leave this summer as a consequence. This news follows the 28-year-old Spaniard’s substandard performance away at Fulham. While Chelsea won 3-2, the two goals he leaked were avoidable, and arguably his fault.
It may be a knee-jerk reaction entering into the window’s final week – and just the latest example of Chelsea and Villa conducting business after Morgan Rogers, Alejandro Garnacho and, soon, Nicolas Jackson – but Stamford Bridge’s supporters will have been glad to hear it.
They know Sanchez is a good goalkeeper, but not enough to help them become an elite side, and the Matthew Harding Stand backed Penders on his Chelsea debut. The 21-year-old Belgian’s potential is high. He was good with his feet, and strong when clawing away and catching crosses.
Mike Penders (right) demonstrated his potential by keeping a clean sheet for the Blues
Pedro Neto’s defensive work impresses Chelsea fans
Pedro Neto was brought on as a substitute here, and after Reece James gave him a rollicking for not tracking back at Fulham, he made a point of doing so here against Luton.
Neto earned a round of an applause from Stamford Bridge’s supporters when he performed those defensive duties.
