Их Британийн трансферийн дээд амжилтыг давтсан 125 сая фунт стерлингийн наймаагаар аргентин хагас хамгаалагч Манчестер Ситид нэгдэхээр боллоо.
Манчестер Сити болон Челси клубүүд 25 настай хагас хамгаалагч Энцо Фернандесийг 125 сая фунт стерлингээр худалдаж авахаар тохиролцсоноор зуны турш үргэлжилсэн трансферийн цуу яриа эцэслэгдлээ. Энэхүү үнийн дүн нь өнгөрсөн зун Ливерпүүл Александер Исакийг Ньюкасл Юнайтедаас авсан Британийн трансферийн дээд амжилттай тэнцэж байна. Челси наймдугаар сарын 14-нд тогтоосон хугацаандаа багтаан 120 сая фунт стерлингийн санал хүлээж аваагүй тул тоглогчийг үлдээх байр суурьтай байсан ч эцсийн дүндээ наймаа хийгдэв.
Манчестер Сити Ливерпүүлийн довтлогч Коди Гакпог авах оролдлого нь 80 сая фунт стерлингийн санал татгалзсанаар бүтэлгүйтсэний дараа Фернандес рүү анхаарлаа хандуулсан байна. Фернандес нь Челсид хүчин зүтгэх хугацаандаа 170 тоглолтод оролцож, 31 гоол оруулж, 30 оновчтой дамжуулалт өгсөн үзүүлэлттэй юм. Тэрээр өмнө нь Бенфикагаас 106.8 сая фунт стерлингийн үнээр ирж байсан бөгөөд одоо Манчестер Ситигийн дасгалжуулагч Энцо Марескагийн удирдлагад дахин ажиллах боллоо.
Тоглогчийн хувьд улирлын бэлтгэл тоглолтууд болон Премьер лигийн нээлтийн тоглолтын үеэр хөгжөөн дэмжигчдийн эсэргүүцэлтэй тулгарч, сүүлийн хэд хэдэн тоглолтод бүрэлдэхүүнээс хасагдсан байв. Челсигийн зүгээс хагас хамгаалалтын шугамаа шинэчлэх, соёлын өөрчлөлт хийх шаардлагатай байсан нь энэхүү худалдааг хийхэд нөлөөлсөн гэж үзэж байна. Манчестер Сити зуны солилцооны цонхоор Эллиот Андерсон болон Аюуб Буадди нарыг эгнээндээ нэгтгээд байсан юм.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Manchester City have reached an agreement with Chelsea to sign midfielder Enzo Fernandez for £125million.
The package for Fernandez equals the existing British transfer record set by Liverpool’s purchase of Alexander Isak from Newcastle United last summer, a move that was also completed late in the transfer window.
City’s deal for Fernandez brings to an end what has been a drawn-out saga surrounding the 25-year-old and his future at Chelsea.
The west London club had indicated on August 14 that they expected Fernandez to stay for the 2026-27 season after their self-imposed deadline passed without City making a bid.
Chelsea valued Fernandez at £120m and insisted at the time that if they did not receive an offer of that figure inside the outlined timeframe, he would not leave the club this summer.
The west London club said that their terms were communicated to City and Fernandez’s camp, and said his representatives had been made aware of their valuation since May.
However,The Athletic reported on Monday that City had turned their focus to Fernandez after their pursuit of Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo ended with the Merseyside club rejecting a bid of up to £80m, and a deal has now been agreed.
Fernandez was booed by supporters at Stamford Bridge during the club’s final pre-season friendly against Real Sociedad and again in the opening Premier League game at Fulham. He ended the match by going down the tunnel without joining his team-mates in front of the away support at full-time and did not feature in either of the following games, against Luton Town in the Carabao Cup or Brighton & Hove Albion in the league on Sunday.
Fernandez has made 170 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 31 goals and providing 30 assists. (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Fernandez joined Chelsea from Benfica for a then British transfer record of £106.8m in January 2023 and has a contract with the club until 2032.
He cast doubt over his Chelsea future on multiple occasions during the latter stages of the 2025-26 campaign, culminating in former head coach Liam Rosenior dropping him for two games in April.
Fernandez’s agent, former Argentina international Javier Pastore, told The Athletic that the punishment was “completely unfair”. He later apologised and returned to the squad.
The Athleticreported in April that City were considering Fernandez as a midfield option this summer. The club have already signed England midfielder Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for £116m and Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille for an initial €95m.
This comes after Rodri joined Barcelona and Tijjani Reijnders left for Saudi Arabian side Al Qadsiah, while Tottenham Hotspur have signed Savio and Omar Marmoush.
Fernandez played under new City manager Enzo Maresca for 18 months at Chelsea.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, publicly denied reports linking them with a move for the 2022 World Cup winner earlier this summer.
Fernandez has made 170 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 31 goals and providing 30 assists.
Will Chelsea miss Fernandez?
Analysis from Chelsea correspondent Liam Twomey
The transfer saga of the summer is finally over. Chelsea certainly won’t miss Enzo Fernandez the distraction, but how much will they miss Enzo Fernandez the player?
Chelsea need some of the things that Fernandez can provide in central midfield — namely, his ability to dictate play and progress the ball into the final third at a high level — but those things have not really been the bulk of the value he has provided in his three-and-a-half years at Stamford Bridge.
Fernandez excelled under Enzo Maresca as a box-crashing, goalscoring midfielder operating from a more advanced position in the left pocket, scoring 15 goals last season. Chelsea filled that spot at great expense in July with the £117million signing of Morgan Rogers, who has made a very impressive start to life in Xabi Alonso’s team.
Had he stayed, Fernandez would have been required to play in Alonso’s midfield double pivot, where he and Moises Caicedo have rarely looked good enough without the ball to be a dominant Premier League pairing. Defensive solidity already looks to be Alonso’s biggest challenge as he builds his Chelsea team, and the Argentine would not help in that endeavour.
Then there are Fernandez’s less tangible qualities. For most of his Chelsea career he served as de facto vice-captain behind Reece James, regularly wearing the armband on the pitch. His personality and dressing room presence merited that status, but his body language towards teammates at times raised eyebrows and his enduring loyalty to Maresca was a problem.
Chelsea needed a cultural reset and a midfield revamp under Alonso, and Fernandez’s sale substantially advances the progress of both.
