Manchester City interest in Enzo Fernandez revealed following blockbuster Chelsea switch | OneFootball

Manchester City were monitoring Enzo Fernandez before the highly-rated midfielder joined Chelsea from Benfica in February, according to a new report.

Fernandez, 22, joined Chelsea for a British-record fee estimated to be £106.8 million after starring for Argentina on their way to World Cup glory in Qatar.

Chelsea took the mid-season transfer window by storm, bringing in Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk, Joao Felix, Benoit Badiashile, Malo Gusto, Andrey Santos, David Fofana amongst others.

The west London side, who replaced Thomas Tuchel with Graham Potter in September last year, are undergoing a period of transition under the ownership of Todd Boehly and his Clearlake Capital consortium.

After pipping Manchester City to Champions League glory in 2021, Chelsea have failed to kick on and build on their rise under Thomas Tuchel, who took over a struggle side from Frank Lampard and led them all the way in Europe.

City, on the other hand, only signed 20-year-old Argentine Maxime Perrone from Velez Sarsfield in January, with Joao Cancelo joining Bayern Munich on loan for the remainder of the campaign.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola himself oversaw a major squad overhaul last summer, signing Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Stefan Ortega, Sergio Gomez, Kalvin Phillips and Manuel Akanji – and sanctioning sales for Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Oleksandr Zinchenko.

The arrival of Kalvin Phillips from Leeds United was perceived as a means to provide stronger competition in midfield for Rodri, who amassed 99 outings across all competitions for City over the course of the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons.

However, injuries have hindered Phillips from getting up and running in a sky blue shirt and a lack of game time have sparked question marks over the 27-year-old’s future at the Etihad Stadium as the business end of the season approaches.

With Ilkay Gundogan in the final year of his contract in east Manchester and Bernardo Silva believed to be keen on an exit, City are expected to invest into their midfield again this summer.

As reported by The Athletic, the Premier League champions were monitoring Enzo Fernandez before the young midfielder joined Chelsea from Benfica in February.

The financial sanctions imposed by the Premier League on Manchester City are not expected to hinder the club’s pursuit of new names in the transfer window come the summer amid reported interest in the likes of Jude Bellingham.

City return to Premier League action against Bournemouth on Saturday after a frustrating 1-1 draw in the opening leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie against RB Leipzig.