On August 26, The Athletic analyzed whether Enzo will leave Chelsea has become a focal point of the summer transfer window. Despite his brilliant performances in attack last season, the club believes there is sporting and managerial justification for selling him. Enzo is not suited as a deep-lying playmaker, and moving him forward has impacted Palmer's performance. In Alonso's new system, his position is also not irreplaceable. If Manchester City makes a suitable offer, Chelsea may choose to sell and bring in a more suitable number 6. However, finding a replacement is not easy, and the high market price also presents a risk.

On Monday, Fulham supporters at Craven Cottage gave Enzo an early preview of what he may frequently face at Premier League stadiums this season, and next month, whether he will be a Chelsea or Manchester City player remains uncertain.

Before the match began, when Enzo's name was read out in Chelsea's substitute list, hostile jeering erupted. As the second half was about to start, he walked across the pitch toward the bench, and the home supporters unleashed deafening boos.

Still raw from England's defeat to Argentina in the intense World Cup semifinal this summer, English fans' wounds had not healed. What's more, Enzo was accompanied by his fellow countryman Valentín Barco. Previously at Atlanta, Bellingham had confronted Valentín Barco after celebrating Enzo's equalizing goal in front of English players. Such scenes undoubtedly further inflamed the tension.

Chelsea supporters at Craven Cottage responded to Enzo with applause and chanted his name. Football inevitably has a partisan nature, and attacks from opposing fans often unite their own supporters more firmly. At the final whistle, most supporters in the away section showed him the same support. Before leaving, Enzo also gave his match shirt to a supporter.

If Enzo joins Manchester City, managed by Enzo Maresca, few believe this goodwill will last long. Maresca was never popular at Stamford Bridge and is now deeply disliked.

People have already grown tired of this transfer saga. Following Chelsea's 3-2 victory over Fulham on Monday, head coach Xavi Alonso also showed some fatigue when discussing the delay in reaching an agreement. When asked about Enzo's future by "Match of the Day", he said: "In football, nothing surprises me. We will wait and see. I hope we will know what happens in the future, but it depends on how this week goes."

From an external standpoint, Chelsea's reasons for selling Enzo this summer are understandable. Through his public statements and actions via his agent Javier Pastore, Enzo has caused problems for the club for much of 2024. He publicly criticized the club's decision-makers last season, and was subsequently linked with Real Madrid; this summer, he has done nothing to discourage Maresca and Manchester City's interest in him.

Even if his only aim is to stay at Stamford Bridge and secure a significantly improved contract, his tactics have been provocative and confrontational. If he stays and receives a pay rise, who can guarantee that a similar situation won't repeat itself in a year or two? If both parties cannot agree on a new contract, then at this stage, on what basis can Chelsea be confident that he will be a player who follows Alonso's instructions this season?

What has received less external discussion is the sporting impact of Enzo's departure on Chelsea. Acquiring Enzo could significantly strengthen Manchester City under Maresca, but keeping him also carries very real risks: the team Chelsea has built under Alonso could be significantly weakened as a result.

Chelsea supporters who back Enzo may be surprised to hear this. Undoubtedly, he was one of Chelsea's best players last season. He scored 10 goals as a midfielder in the Premier League for the first time in a season, with 15 goals across all competitions. He has transformed himself into one of the highest-scoring number 8s at Stamford Bridge since Frank Lampard, while also proving to be an exceptionally talented playmaker, which deserves full recognition.

However, this transformation also demonstrates that Enzo's career trajectory at Chelsea has been highly distinctive. In January 2023, Chelsea signed him from Benfica for €120 million (approximately £106 million), initially hoping he would replace Jorginho as the deep-lying playmaker for a new generation of world-class midfielders. He played in this position for much of the disappointing second half of the 2022-23 season and under Pochettino in 2023-24.

The problem was, Chelsea's defense was never solid enough when Enzo played as a defensive midfielder. Despite his efforts to improve his fitness in recent years, when covering the vast midfield area, he was sometimes limited by his athleticism, and his defensive awareness was not sharp enough to effectively disrupt opponents' attacks.

Pochettino indeed questioned whether Enzo and Moises Caicedo could form an effective double pivot. Even with Conor Gallagher actively pressing forward, Chelsea were often exposed in defensive transitions and conceded 63 goals in the 2023-24 Premier League season.

Maresca's solution was to push Enzo into the left half-space ahead of the fullback, while the inverted fullback partnered Caicedo in a deeper midfield partnership, slowing Chelsea's possession tempo to keep the team more compact and better prepared for counterattacks. This adjustment helped Chelsea's overall structure become more solid and allowed the Argentine to display his best football since joining Stamford Bridge, but at the cost of other aspects of the team, particularly a significant decline in Palmer's performance.

From current indications, Alonso will not adopt the same setup in his 3-4-2-1 system. Enzo would be well-suited to playing as a left attacking midfielder behind João Pedro, but Morgan Rogers, who arrived as an expensive summer signing, has roughly 117 million reasons to occupy that position and partner with Palmer. If either is absent, Estêvão is more than capable of filling in.

Enzo has frequently played in a deeper role for Argentina and has achieved great success. However, beyond acknowledging the fundamental differences between international and club football, it must also be remembered that Argentina's defense looked vulnerable in almost every match of the last two World Cups, conceding 4 goals in two matches against Cape Verde and Egypt during their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Blaming a single player for these issues is clearly unfair, especially a midfielder like Enzo, but this context does help us see the bigger picture. For the past three and a half years, every manager appointed by Clearlake has failed to make the Enzo-Caicedo double pivot effective when not in possession. Alonso is extremely astute and may have devised a tactical solution, but if Chelsea can get a satisfactory offer from Manchester City, wouldn't it be simpler to let Enzo leave and use the money to strengthen the squad?

However, with the transfer window closing, this path is not without risk. This summer's transfer market has seen many top midfielders complete their moves, and among those still available, many play for clubs unwilling to sell, or these clubs have no pressing financial need and will not compromise their season's objectives by selling a player. Alex Scott and Adam Wharton are examples.

It's quite possible Chelsea could sell Enzo to Manchester City for more than they paid in January 2023, while simultaneously having to pay far above fair value for his replacement. This is an inflated transfer market, but compared to keeping Enzo and presenting Alonso with a difficult problem in balancing the team, selling him may still be worth serious consideration.

Even in defeat, Fulham managed to expose structural defensive problems in Chelsea's setup at Craven Cottage. Caicedo's return from injury will help, but Lavia also has his own defensive limitations. Bringing in a suitable number 6 may help establish an effective balance for Chelsea's currently most dangerous attack.

Who this player will be depends on Chelsea's sporting management team, which always has a list of potential targets. In the assessment process during the final days of August, there is undoubtedly much evidence that will bring Chelsea's management to one conclusion: Enzo is not the right fit.

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.

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