Chelsea have finally agreed a deal to sell Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City on transfer deadline day, according to reports.
Fernandez made it clear earlier in the summer that he wanted to leave Stamford Bridge and has continued to push for a move towards the end of the window.
Chelsea spent over £100m to sign Fernandez from Benfica in 2023 and the Argentine has been a mainstay in the team ever since.
But Fernandez’s desire to leave became apparent last season when he repeatedly flirted with Real Madrid while refusing to commit his long-term future to Chelsea.
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The 25-year-old, who won the World Cup in 2022 before being sent off in this summer’s final, was dreaming of a move to the Bernabeu but a deal failed to materialise.
Man City have continued to show interest, however, with Pep Guardiola’s replacement Enzo Maresca keen to reunite with a player he managed at Chelsea.
City missed the deadline Chelsea set to buy Fernandez for £120m but talks have continued in the past week despite their £86m move for Ayyoub Bouaddi.
L’Equipe say Chelsea and Manchester City have now reached an agreement over a deal for Fernandez worth 140m euros (£120m) before add-ons.
The report adds that the deal still needs to be finalised in writing before Fernandez can undergo a medical at the Etihad Stadium.
Barring any late mishaps, Fernandez will become the second-most expensive player in Premier League history behind Liverpool striker Alexander Isak.
Fernandez was left out of Chelsea’s first two Premier League games of the new season, a 3-2 win over Fulham and an equally thrilling 4-3 victory over Brighton.
He is set to join a Man City team who also boast a perfect record after two games, with Maresca’s side coming from behind to beat Bournemouth before an emphatic win at Crystal Palace.
Speaking before the final day of the transfer window, Frank Leboeuf claimed ‘nobody’ wanted Fernandez at Chelsea and urged his former club to sanction his exit before the deadline.
‘Enzo Fernandez, I think he’s gone,’ Leboeuf said on ESPN. ‘Look at the case with Julian Alvarez.
‘A club can fight and try to keep a player but if the player wants to go, he has to go because there is no way that he would be fully fit, fully fit also psychologically, to give 100 per cent.
‘I think nobody wants Enzo Fernandez to stay. It’s time for him to go because he decided to go because he showed last season because of his comment that he wants to leave. So, bye-bye. Good luck.’
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