Enzo Maresca tells his old club Chelsea he WON’T meet their 5pm deadline for £120m Enzo Fernandez transfer today as saga threatens to turn sour
Man City boss Enzo Maresca has hinted he won’t adhere to Chelsea’s deadline over a potential move for Enzo Fernandez.
Argentina and Chelsea star Fernandez, 25, had been the subject of interest from City this summer, with the club looking to restock their midfield following the exit of Bernardo Silva and Rodri’s likely departure.
Fernandez returned to training earlier this week after the World Cup and amid the speculation, the Blues gave their Premier League rivals until Friday at 5PM to make a move for the 25-year-old, who they value at £120million.
However, when pressed on that red line and whether City would do any business today, Maresca said: ‘Not today to be honest. I don’t think we’re going to do something today.’
Maresca previously enjoyed a strong relationship with the midfielder during his time at Stamford Bridge and the Argentine has repeatedly flirted with a transfer away over recent months.
Fernandez has played 169 times for the clubs since his then-British record £106.8million transfer from Benfica in January 2023.
Enzo Maresca has poured cold water on reports linking Man City with a move for Enzo Fernandez
City, meanwhile, have already added Elliot Anderson this summer and are hoping to sign Morocco wonderkid Ayyoub Bouaddi.
Tijjani Reijnders is also likely to depart and Mateo Kovacic and Nico Gonzalez could move on too.
That has left Maresca with the task of constructing nearly a whole new midfield and the Italian admitted it poses difficulties ahead of the new campaign.
‘It’s a big challenge,’ he said. ‘First of all because Bernardo (Silva) showed how good he is on the ball, off the ball, in these years but again Elliot (Anderson), we are completely sure that he’s going to do a great job for this club in the next few years.
‘No doubt about that. They are different players, but we are going to try to use Elliot in the best way for him and for the team.’
When pressed on the uncertainty over Rodri’s future, Maresca added: ‘We’ll see what happens, Bernardo already left, we’ll see what happens with the rest.
‘For sure, with Bernardo, John (Stones), (Nathan) Ake already we see what happens with some players, but there is a change in this moment, and the moment when the window closes we need to be good enough to find as soon as possible solutions for the players, for the team.
‘But we are in a moment where players who have been here for many years have already left or can leave, that means that there’s going to be a change and we’re going to try to do our best.’
