Manchester City will make an opening bid of £100million for Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez. Etihad bosses remain keen on signing the Argentine midfielder, despite talks between the two clubs having stalled.
Deadline missed but City push on
Chelsea had set City a deadline of 5pm on August 13 to meet the asking price of £120m and get a deal done. But City know the World Cup winner is desperate to join them before the transfer window closes.
Chairman Khaldoon-Al-Mubarak is poised to tempt Chelsea with an offer of £100m, in the hope of landing the 25-year-old. Fernandez has become an unpopular figure at Stamford Bridge, where he has been booed by his own fans.
Maresca reunion in the making
He was left out of Xabi Alonso's starting line-up for the win at Fulham this week, before playing the final 30 minutes at Craven Cottage. New City boss Enzo Maresca had a good relationship with Fernandez when he managed him at Chelsea.
And he made it clear to City bosses when he accepted the job of replacing Pep Guardiola he would love to have him in his team again. City have seen Bernardo Silva and Rodri leave the Etihad this summer, while fellow midfielder Nico Gonzalez is poised to join Newcastle in a £50m deal.
The final straw for Gonzalez came last weekend, when Maresca selected defender Marc Guehi ahead of him in a holding midfield role for the 2-1 win over Bournemouth. Maresca would like to have Fernandez operating in tandem with record signing Elliot Anderson.
Deal still uncertain
But it remains to be seen if City, who have kept in close contact with Fernandez's agent Javier Pastore, can strike a deal with Chelsea. Earlier this week, Alonso made it clear that he wants the midfielder's future to be decided quickly.
The Chelsea boss told BBC Radio 5 Live: "In football, I am not surprised by anything. We will see. My wish is that we know what will happen for the future but we will see this week."
Maresca, meanwhile, has been tight-lipped on City's pursuit of Fernandez, who's seen as the ideal replacement for Rodri after he recently joined Barcelona.
"Enzo is a Chelsea player and I'm not going to talk about players that are not with us," the Italian said last week. "First of all, because I think it's a lack of respect, and second because I don't like when different managers talk about our players."
