Enzo Fernandez has just joined Man City for £125 million, £5 million more than Chelsea spent to recruit the Argentine midfielder. Throughout the summer transfer window, Enzo's price ranged from £120 to £135 million. Therefore, the price Man City spent is considered reasonable.
During the time Enzo Fernandez wore the Chelsea shirt, he has not been able to contribute to helping the team win the Premier League. However, that does not deny the role of the Argentine midfielder in the Blues squad. He is always one of the most important players. Like Bruno Fernandes of Man United, Enzo Fernandez does not need any major titles to prove his importance and class in the Chelsea squad.
One of the reasons why Enzo's price is at a very high level in the summer of 2026 is because other targets in midfield also have sky-high prices. Typical are the 2 deals Elliot Anderson to Man City (116 million pounds) and Morgan Rogers to Chelsea (117 million pounds). In terms of ability and combat readiness in the Premier League, Enzo is not inferior, even slightly better than his 2 juniors. Man City understands that if they want to get the Argentine star, the price to spend at the negotiating table cannot be less than 117 million pounds.
Enzo Maresca is also one of the major reasons for triggering this deal. The Italian coach unexpectedly left Chelsea in the middle of last season after a behind-the-scenes scandal. Maresca came to Man City to replace Pep Guardiola and wants to reunite with his old student at the Etihad Stadium.
When the summer 2026 transfer market has passed halfway, Man City has Elliot Anderson. However, the appearance of the young English star is not enough, the clearest proof is through the English Super Cup match with Arsenal and the Premier League opening match against Bournemouth. Man City's midfield almost played out of sync, failing to create a bridge with each other and failing to support Erling Haaland.
A summer of farewell to 4 midfielders, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Tijjani Reijnders and Nico Gonzalez, is a serious shortage of Man City's force. The addition of Enzo Fernandez and Ayyoub Bouaddi came at a very timely time. At that time, The Citizens' central midfield pair will have 3 new players, Enzo, Anderson and Bouaddi, not to mention Kovacic can support. Above the midfield line, the starting spot will definitely belong to Ryan Cherki or Nico O'Reilly.
Another advantage of the Enzo Fernandez deal with Man City is the familiarity between this midfielder and his coach Enzo Maresca, as the two have worked together at Chelsea for a while. The new City captain will not take much time to help his former student get used to the new environment. Even from now on, Enzo Fernandez can become the leader of Man City's midfield, he will be the one to directly convey the coach's ideas to his young teammates.
In recent transfer seasons, players with prices above 100 million Euros have appeared too much, so this is no longer the most standard valuation of the perfection of contracts. With Man City, they need Enzo Fernandez and the player side also wants to go to Etihad. When both sides "matched orders", Enzo's price is just a tool for the deal to go smoothly.
