Manchester City are reportedly looking to complete the signing of Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez this week. According to Italian outlet Gianluca Di Marzio, Chelsea are working on completing the formalities to bring the Argentinian to the Etihad Stadium.
Chelsea's £120m asking price
The report claims that Chelsea are asking for €140million (£120m) for the former Benfica man, with Fernandez pushing to reunite with former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca. City are said to be in talks with Newcastle United over a move for Nico Gonzalez which would see the midfielder make the switch to the North East.
Earlier this month, Chelsea set a deadline for Fernandez's departure, informing their Premier League rivals - and any possible suitors - that they had until 5pm on Friday, August 14 to seal a deal with the 25-year-old. No deal was struck and at the time, Maresca refused to be drawn on the speculation.
Maresca's stance on speculation
He said: "In this moment I have to give you the same answer since day one, which will be always the same. He is a player from another club and I don't think it's correct to talk about other players."
"I'm not going to say anything about players who are not with us. Not today, to be honest. I don't think we're going to do something today."
City came from behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1 in their Premier League opener while Chelsea make the short journey across West London to take on Fulham in their curtain-raiser on Monday night. New head coach Xabi Alonso will be in the dugout for his first top-flight match in England when he comes up against former Liverpool teammate Alvaro Arbeloa.
Alonso's backing for Fernandez
All eyes will be on the starting 11 with the Spaniard tasked with taking Chelsea back towards the upper reaches of the Premier League after a topsy-turvy few years at Stamford Bridge. Whether Fernandez is in the starting line-up or not remains to be seen with speculation mounting over his future.
Chelsea were said to have agreed with his agent, Javier Pastore, that he could leave the Blues for £120million if the asking price was met by the August 14 deadline. Alonso reaffirmed the stance that the 25-year-old remains a Chelsea player. He said: "Enzo is a Chelsea player. He's a top, top player."
"He's training really well. We are happy with him and he's getting ready for Monday."
