Manchester City and Chelsea have concluded negotiations over the transfer of midfielder Enzo Fernandez. Following 24 hours of intensive talks, the two sides agreed on a fee of £125 million, which will equal the British transfer record. The 25-year-old Argentine is expected to undergo a medical examination shortly and sign a long-term contract with his new club.
The Deal and the Record-Breaking Fee
The agreed fee of £125 million makes Fernandez one of the most expensive players in the history of English football. In 2023, Chelsea signed the Argentine from Benfica for £107 million, which at the time was the most expensive transfer in British football history. His move to Manchester City now equals the record fee that Liverpool paid for Alexander Isak last summer. In effect, the clubs have matched rather than broken the record, keeping the benchmark at £125 million.
Reunion with Maresca
A significant factor in the deal is Fernandez's reunion with Enzo Maresca. The Italian manager was in charge of Chelsea when the Argentine played for the Londoners and is keen to work with him again. For Manchester City, signing the midfielder is a logical step after the club lost several central players this summer and needs to strengthen its midfield.
Negotiations and the Deadline
Chelsea had previously set a deadline for potential buyers — 5:00 pm UK time on 14 August — and was prepared to consider offers of £120 million or more in order to resolve Fernandez's future before the start of the 2026/27 season. The Argentine was left out of Chelsea's squads for the Premier League match against Brighton (4:3) and the EFL Cup tie against Luton (2:0); according to Argentine media reports, the player asked not to be included in those line-ups, which accelerated the process.
Conflicting Figures
There is a slight discrepancy in how the fee is worded across sources. The base reports and a number of outlets state exactly £125 million, while Fabrizio Romano describes the agreed fee as "more than £125 million." In addition, some materials emphasise that the deal merely matches the record (the fee for Isak last summer), whereas others call Fernandez's move the most expensive transfer of the 2026 summer window, since it exceeds the summer fees for Morgan Rogers (£117m, Chelsea) and Bradley Barcola (£123m, Liverpool). Both versions are compatible: £125 million is both a repeat of the historic record and the ceiling of the current summer window.
Context of the 2026 Summer Window
For Manchester City, this is already the second transfer record of the current summer: the club had earlier signed Eliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for £116 million. Fernandez will become the fourth player for whom a Premier League club has paid at least £100 million this summer. Before him, that threshold was crossed by Morgan Rogers (£117m, Chelsea), Bradley Barcola (£123m, Liverpool) and Eliot Anderson (£116m, Manchester City). The official completion of the transfer is expected after the medical examination.
