On August 26, according to local time, The Athletic's analysis highlighted that Enzo Fernández's potential departure from Chelsea FC has become a focal point of the summer transfer market. Although he delivered excellent performances in attacking play last season, the club believes there are sporting and organizational reasons to sell him. Enzo Fernández is not suited to playing as a holding midfielder, and moving him forward has impacted Cole Palmer's performance in Enzo Maresca's new system. His position is also not indispensable. Should Manchester City FC table a suitable offer, Chelsea FC might choose to sell him and sign a more suitable number 6 midfielder. However, finding a replacement is not straightforward, and the inflated market price carries significant risk.

On Monday, Fulham supporters at Craven Cottage got a preview of what Enzo Fernández may face frequently in Premier League stadiums this season, with uncertainty still surrounding whether he will be a Chelsea FC or Manchester City FC player next month.

Before the match began, when Enzo Fernández was announced in Chelsea FC's substitute lineup, the crowd booed. As the second half was about to start, he walked across the pitch to the bench, and the home fans booed loudly again.

England's wounds remain fresh after losing to Argentina in a fiercely contested World Cup final last summer. Moreover, Enzo Fernández arrived alongside his compatriot Valentín Barco. Earlier, Jude Bellingham had patted Valentín Barco on the back to celebrate Enzo Fernández's equalizer in front of English players, a scene that further inflamed tensions.

Chelsea FC supporters at Craven Cottage responded to Enzo Fernández with applause and cheers singing his name. Football inevitably involves partisan divisions, and attacks from opposing fans often unite a team's own supporters. When the final whistle blew, most fans in the visiting section showed their support for him as well. Before leaving the pitch, Enzo Fernández handed his shirt to a fan.

If Enzo Fernández joins Manchester City FC under Enzo Maresca's management, few believe such goodwill would last long. Maresca was never popular at Stamford Bridge and is now widely disliked.

People are tired of the protracted nature of this transfer saga. After Chelsea FC defeated Fulham 3-2 on Monday, head coach Enzo Maresca showed some frustration when discussing the prolonged negotiations. When asked by "Match of the Day" about Enzo Fernández's future, he stated: "In football, nothing surprises me. We will wait and see. I hope we will know what happens, but we will wait to see how this week develops."

From external factors, Chelsea FC's desire to sell Enzo Fernández this summer is understandable. Based on public statements and actions by his agent, Javier Pastorè, Enzo Fernández has been a problem for the club throughout 2024. He publicly criticized the club's management last season, subsequently linked with Real Madrid this summer, and did nothing to discourage interest from Maresca and Manchester City FC.

Even if his goal was merely staying at Stamford Bridge with a significantly improved contract, his strategy was provocative and confrontational. If he stayed and received a pay raise, who could guarantee a similar situation wouldn't arise in a year or two? If both parties cannot agree on a new contract now, how can Chelsea FC be confident he will follow Maresca's instructions this season?

There is less debate about the sporting impact of letting Enzo Fernández leave Chelsea FC. Acquiring Enzo Fernández could significantly boost Manchester City FC's potential under Maresca, but retaining him also carries genuine risk: the team Chelsea FC is building under Maresca's leadership could be significantly weakened as a result.

Chelsea FC supporters backing Enzo Fernández may find this surprising. There is no doubt he was one of Chelsea FC's best-performing players last season. He scored 10 goals from midfield in his first Premier League season, netting 15 goals across all competitions. He has successfully established himself as one of the best-scoring number 8s at Stamford Bridge since Frank Lampard and remains a gifted passer deserving full credit.

However, this situation also reveals how precarious Enzo Fernández's career path at Chelsea FC has been. In January 2023, Chelsea FC signed him from Benfica for 120 million euros (approximately £106 million), hoping he would succeed Jorginho as a world-class holding midfielder. He played in this role throughout the difficult second half of the 2022-23 season and under Mauricio Pochettino's management in the 2023-24 season.

The problem was Chelsea FC's defense was never solid when Enzo Fernández played as a deep midfielder. Although he has worked hard to improve his physical condition in recent years, when covering large areas in central midfield, he was sometimes limited by his physicality, and his defensive awareness was not sharp enough to effectively disrupt opponents' attacking play.

Pochettino questioned whether Enzo Fernández and Moisés Caicedo could form an effective midfield partnership. Despite Connor Gallagher pressing hard in attack, Chelsea FC's defense was frequently breached in transition, conceding 63 goals in the 2023-24 Premier League season.

Maresca's solution was to push Enzo Fernández higher to the left half-space, while the fullback would drop deeper to partner with Caicedo at the base of midfield. This slowed Chelsea FC's possession, maintained tighter team organization, and better handled counterattacks. These adjustments stabilized Chelsea FC's overall structure and brought out the Argentine's best football since joining Stamford Bridge, but at the cost of impacting other areas, notably Cole Palmer's clearly diminished form.

Based on current indicators, Maresca will not use Enzo Fernández in the same role in his 3-4-2-1 system. Enzo Fernández would fit well at the left attacking midfield position behind João Félix, but Morgan Rogers, signed this summer for a substantial fee of approximately £117 million, has compelling reasons to occupy that position and partner with Cole Palmer. If either is unavailable, Estêvão has sufficient capability to step in.

Enzo Fernández frequently plays in deeper roles for the Argentina national team with great success, but beyond recognizing the fundamental differences between international and club football, it should be remembered that Argentina's defense appeared fragile in nearly every fixture during the last two World Cups, conceding 4 goals in two matches against Cape Verde and Egypt en route to the 2026 World Cup final.

Blaming any single player for these issues is clearly unfair, particularly a midfielder like Enzo Fernández, but these situations help us see the bigger picture. No coach appointed by Clearlake in the past three and a half years has made the Enzo Fernández-Caicedo midfield pairing function effectively without the ball. Maresca is very intelligent and may already have tactical solutions in mind, but if Chelsea FC can receive a satisfactory offer from Manchester City FC, would selling Enzo Fernández and using the funds to strengthen other areas not be easier?

However, this path is not without risk as the transfer window approaches closure. Many key midfielders have already moved this summer, and among those remaining available, many play for clubs unwilling to sell or clubs without urgent financial needs who will not jeopardize their season's objectives by selling a player. Alex Scott and Adam Wharton are examples of this.

It's possible Chelsea FC could sell Enzo Fernández to Manchester City FC for a higher price than they paid in January 2023, but they would still need to pay above market rate for his replacement. This is the inflated transfer market we currently see, but compared to retaining Enzo Fernández and presenting Maresca with an unsolvable puzzle in balancing the team, selling him might still be the better option.

Despite the defeat, Fulham succeeded in exposing structural problems in Chelsea FC's defense at Craven Cottage. Caicedo's return from injury will help, but Lavia has defensive limitations of his own. Bringing in a proper number 6 midfielder could create effective balance for Chelsea FC's currently most threatening attacking force.

Who this player will be depends on Chelsea FC's sporting management team, which always maintains a list of potential targets. During the evaluation process in late August, substantial evidence will lead Chelsea FC's management to the undisputed conclusion that Enzo Fernández is not the right fit.

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