Chelsea retain Enzo Fernandez as City and Madrid miss deadline

Chelsea will keep Enzo Fernandez following the failure of Manchester City and Real Madrid to submit formal bids by the club's Friday deadline. The Blues set a 5pm BST cutoff on August 14 for all interested parties to meet their £120m valuation for the 25-year-old midfielder.

Neither Manchester City nor Real Madrid provided an offer before the specified time, which included particular payment terms communicated by Chelsea. This outcome leaves the London club in a position to retain the player for the upcoming campaign. Chelsea have also indicated they will not consider selling the midfielder during the January transfer window.

Fernandez arrived at Stamford Bridge from Benfica in 2023 in a deal worth £106.8m, a British record at the time. He was a consistent presence in the squad last season, making 36 Premier League appearances and contributing 10 goals and four assists.

Manchester City had viewed midfield additions as a priority, having already completed a £116m transfer for Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest. While City are currently involved in discussions with Lille regarding 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi for a fee that could reach £100m, they did not move for Fernandez before the deadline.

On the international stage, Fernandez featured for Argentina during the 2026 World Cup. His tournament concluded with a red card in the final against Spain, where he received a second yellow card in a 1-0 defeat.