Chelsea reveal new Enzo Fernandez transfer stance ahead of deadline amid talk of Man City £102.5m bid

The deadline is fast approaching

Chelsea have not yet received any bids for Enzo Fernandez and are not open to selling the midfielder until next summer at the earliest, if Friday’s deadline passes without any formal offers.

The Blues have set a hard deadline of 5pm BST on Friday (August 14) by which time bids for the Argentina international must have been submitted, otherwise they will not sanction his sale until summer 2027 at the earliest. That means a sale would not be considered by Chelsea in January.

The deadline comes alongside Chelsea’s asking price of £120million net.

It is unclear whether Chelsea would soften their stance if bids at a lower value were made or offers were lodged after Friday’s deadline.

Manchester City are believed to be interested in Fernandez, where he would reunite with the former Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca if he signed for them.

They could lose Rodri to Barcelona and fellow midfielder Tijjani Reijnders looks set to leave for Saudi club Al Qadsiah, freeing up space — and funds — for a possible marquee midfield signing.

There has been reporting in some sections of the media on Thursday that City had made a £102.5m bid for Fernandez and communicated it to Chelsea.

However, Standard Sport understands such reports are inaccurate and that Chelsea have received no bids yet for Fernandez, as of 5pm on Thursday — 24 hours before their arbitrary deadline.

The deadline was intended to help give the club clarity as to whether or not new manager Xabi Alonso is preparing for his first campaign as manager with Fernandez in his squad.

Fernandez’s dream move this summer was to Real Madrid, but that appears to have never been on the cards — and the Spanish giants released a statement distancing themselves from him in order to attempt to quell the noise around any potential interest they had in him.

Chelsea’s £120m asking price includes further financial stipulations in terms of payment terms. These terms are understood to have been communicated to all potential buying clubs.