Chelsea not ruling out Fernández departure

Chelsea are not ruling out Enzo Fernández leaving the club among growing interest in the Argentine international from several European clubs.

They are headed by Real Madrid, who are long standing admirers of the 24-year old, and considered making a move for him during the summer, but decided not to make a formal move to sign him.

However, it would take a substantial offer to part with him. Chelsea spent ₤106 million to bring him the World Cup winner to Stamford Bridge from Benfica, and would be looking for something similar if they were to sell him.

And whilst Chelsea’s policy of handing players long contracts has sometimes been criticised, in this case it works in their favour. Fernández is contracted at Stamford Bridge until 2032, which means that Real will not be able to follow their usual tactic in his case. That encourages players to run down their contracts, so that they can subsequently sign them as free agents.

Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.