Manchester City agree £125m deal to sign Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez

Manchester City have reached an agreement with Chelsea to sign Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez for £125m, according to The Athletic.

The fee would equal the current British transfer record, set by Liverpool when they signed Alexander Isak from Newcastle United last summer. That deal was also completed in the final days of the transfer window.

The agreement appears to bring an end to a prolonged period of uncertainty over the future of the 25-year-old at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea said on 14 August that they expected Fernandez to remain with the club for the 2026-27 season after Manchester City failed to make an offer before a deadline set by the London club.

Chelsea had valued Fernandez at £120m and insisted that he would not leave during the summer unless they received a bid matching that figure before the deadline.

The club said its conditions had been communicated to Manchester City and Fernandez’s representatives. Chelsea also stated that the player’s camp had known the club’s valuation since May.

The Athletic reported on Monday that City turned their attention to Fernandez after Liverpool rejected an offer worth up to £80m for forward Cody Gakpo. The two clubs have now reached an agreement for the Argentina international instead.

Fernandez was booed by Chelsea supporters during the team’s final pre-season friendly against Real Sociedad. The same reaction followed during Chelsea’s opening Premier League fixture against Fulham.

At the end of the Fulham match, Fernandez went down the tunnel rather than joining his team-mates in front of the visiting supporters. He then missed Chelsea’s next two games, against Luton Town in the EFL Cup and Brighton in the league on Sunday.

He joined Chelsea from Benfica in January 2023 for £106.8m, a fee that was a British transfer record at the time. His contract with the club runs until 2032.

The midfielder had raised questions about his Chelsea future on several occasions during the closing stages of the 2025-26 season. Former manager Liam Rosenior left him out of the squad for two matches in April.

Fernandez’s agent, former Argentina international Javier Pastore, told The Athletic at the time that the punishment was “completely unfair”. Fernandez later apologised and returned to the squad.

The Athletic reported in April that City were considering a summer move for Fernandez as part of an attempt to strengthen their midfield.

City had already signed England midfielder Elliott Anderson from Nottingham Forest for £116m. They also recruited Ayoub Bouaddi from Lille for an initial fee of €95m.

Those moves followed Rodri’s transfer to Barcelona and Tijjani Reijnders’ departure for Saudi Pro League club Al-Qadsiah. Tottenham Hotspur signed Savinho and Omar Marmoush during the same period.

Fernandez previously worked under Manchester City’s new manager, Enzo Maresca, for 18 months while the Italian was at Chelsea.

Real Madrid had publicly denied earlier this summer that they were pursuing the World Cup winner.

Fernandez has made 170 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 31 goals and providing 30 assists.