Manchester City Prepare Record-Breaking Bid for Enzo Fernández

Manchester City are preparing an opening bid for Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández in a move that would detonate the final days of the transfer window, according to BBC Sport.

Chelsea have set a starting price of at least £120 million for the 25-year-old Argentina international. That figure would make Fernández the second-most expensive signing in Premier League history, behind only Alexander Isak’s £125m switch to Liverpool earlier this summer.

For Enzo Maresca, he is not just a luxury target. He is the plan.

Maresca’s midfield rebuild

City’s new manager views Fernández as the key piece in a rapidly rebuilt engine room after a summer of ruthless churn. Four major midfielders have already gone: Tijjani Reijnders to Al-Qadsiah for £52m, Rodri to Barcelona for £65m, Nico Gonzalez to Newcastle for £52m, and Bernardo Silva to Real Madrid.

Those exits have stripped away the core that underpinned City’s recent dominance. Maresca wants Fernández to become the new reference point.

City have already smashed their transfer record once this window, paying £116m to bring Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest. Landing Fernández would mean breaking it again within the same summer – a clear sign of how aggressively the club are backing Maresca’s vision.

Old ties, new tension

This is not a cold, opportunistic chase. Maresca has kept a strong relationship with Fernández since his own controversial departure from Chelsea on New Year’s Day, months before he took charge at the Etihad in June.

That personal connection now collides with rising tension at Stamford Bridge.

Relations between Fernández and Chelsea deteriorated after their Champions League exit to PSG in March. The midfielder publicly voiced his frustrations in the aftermath, and the situation never fully cooled.

Signed from Benfica for £107m in 2023, Fernández and his agent Javier Pastore even explored the possibility of a move to Real Madrid earlier this year, before the Spanish giants publicly distanced themselves from the speculation.

New Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso met Fernández privately in July, attempting to steady the situation. Alonso refused to disclose what was discussed, leaving the midfielder’s long-term future an open question.

Chelsea’s biggest decision since Hazard

City now face a race against the clock to formalise a bid before next week’s deadline. The numbers involved mean any offer will test Chelsea’s resolve and their wider project under Alonso.

Letting Fernández go would represent Chelsea’s most high-profile departure since Eden Hazard left for Madrid in 2019. It would reshape not just their midfield, but the perception of where the club sits in the European hierarchy.

Alonso must somehow keep his squad locked in for crucial league fixtures while a potential record-breaking sale hangs over his dressing room.

On the other side, Maresca is pushing for the marquee signing he believes can restore City’s grip on English football and reignite their challenge in Europe.

If City put the money on the table and Chelsea blink, Enzo Fernández could become the face of a new era at the Etihad – and the symbol of another hard reset at Stamford Bridge.