Enzo Fernández is joining Manchester City. The clubs have agreed after a night of negotiation, the fee is reported at £125 million, about €145 million, and his medical is booked at the City Football Academy today. Personal terms are agreed on a contract to June 2032.
It is the deal City had been circling all summer and could not start. Chelsea gave them until 5pm on Friday 16 August to make a formal offer and none came. City only made their first official club to club approach on Monday evening, with about twenty eight hours of the window left, and finished it overnight.
At that price it is a record sale for Chelsea, who paid Benfica £107 million for him in January 2023. They spent this summer assembling the most expensive squad in world football, eleven first team signings for a combined €408 million, and are now selling their most expensive one to a direct rival on deadline day. Fernández had been left out of their Carabao Cup win over Luton last Thursday.
For City it completes about £190 million of deadline business in twenty four hours, after the £65 million package agreed for Iliman Ndiaye. It also completes the most drastic midfield rebuild any English champion-era squad has attempted in one window: Rodri sold to Barcelona, Tijjani Reijnders to Al Qadsiah, Nico González to Newcastle, Bernardo Silva released, and Ayyoub Bouaddi bought from Lille for €95 million plus add-ons.
Enzo Maresca coached Fernández at Chelsea and has wanted him since taking the City job. He now has him, in a side that has won its first three league games and has just spent a fortnight selling from every other department to afford it.
The window shuts at 11pm tonight.