Chelsea give Friday deadline for £120m-rated Fernandez bids

Chelsea have given clubs until 17:00 BST on Friday to submit offers for Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez, with the club expected to insist on its £120m valuation despite having paid £107m for him from Benfica back in 2023.

Real Madrid have already said they have no intention of pursuing a deal, leaving Manchester City as the only known potential buyer. City are now managed by Enzo Maresca, who left Chelsea partway through last season. It is not yet clear whether City would be prepared to meet Fernandez's valuation, particularly as the club is also said to be interested in signing Lille's Moroccan midfielder Ayoub Bouaddi.

The deadline is designed to remove uncertainty ahead of the new season. Chelsea had already allowed roughly 60 days for Fernandez and any interested parties to strike a deal at what the club regards as a fair price.

Alonso talks to player

New head coach Xabi Alonso has discussed Fernandez's future with him directly, though he has not revealed what was said in that conversation. Chelsea are understood to have made clear that they are willing to fully reintegrate Fernandez into the squad and keep him as a key part of the team going forward.

Fernandez scored 15 goals and added seven assists in 54 appearances for Chelsea last season. He later helped Argentina reach the World Cup final, where he was sent off as Spain beat them 1-0.

This week marked Fernandez's first return to Chelsea training since Alonso took charge.