Manchester City spent £125 million to bring Enzo Fernandez to Etihad, but this deal raises many questions about the finances, personality and position of the Argentine midfielder.
Two late goals that caused Man City to drop important points last season now unintentionally become part of the reason for them to spend huge sums of money on two midfielders. Elliot Anderson scored in the 88th minute to help Nottingham Forest draw with Man City in March, while Enzo Fernandez once equalized for Chelsea in the 90+4 minute in the match in January.
Now, Anderson and Fernandez can become the most expensive midfielder pair in history with a total fee of up to 241 million pounds. Fernandez alone cost Man City 125 million pounds, in the deal that took place on the last day of the transfer window.
The Argentine midfielder possesses many impressive qualities. He once scored 15 goals in a season for Chelsea, even though The Blues were only ranked 10th in the Premier League. Fernandez has also repeatedly made his mark in big matches and scored decisive goals for Argentina at the 2026 World Cup.
Those performances make Fernandez seen as a replacement for Kevin De Bruyne or a former version of Ilkay Gundogan. However, this deal still has three major problems: finance, personality and tactics.
The point that Man City must consider first is Fernandez's position. His best form at Chelsea often appears when playing in the number 8 or number 10 position, where he can push high and directly participate in attacks.
At Chelsea, Fernandez was used in the defensive midfielder position and played alongside Moises Caicedo. However, when they had enough force, Chelsea often used Caicedo with another midfielder to take on heavier tasks in midfield.
Meanwhile, Man City seems to want to bring Fernandez deeper to play behind Rayan Cherki or Phil Foden, thereby filling the gap left by Rodri and Bernardo Silva. This is a different way of using the position that once helped Fernandez maximize his ability at Chelsea.
That difference is even more noteworthy when Man City has lost players with very special roles. Rodri once won the Golden Ball and was the foundation for the team's ability to control the match. Bernardo Silva is highly appreciated by Pep Guardiola not only for his technique but also for his personality and stability.
In Man City's most successful period, Guardiola owned many players who were both professionally skilled and maintained stability in the team. Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji or Ruben Dias are typical examples. Compared to them, Fernandez is a much larger investment.
The personality of the Argentine midfielder is also a problem. Fernandez once actively tried to leave Benfica and then Chelsea even though he still had a long-term contract. He also publicly expressed his desire to join Real Madrid, to the point that the Spanish team had to issue a statement denying interest in him.
Chelsea finally agreed to sell Fernandez on the last day of the transfer window, although they had previously set a deadline to complete the deal. The London team's acceptance of letting the 25-year-old player leave partly shows the desire to close the story.
