Fernandez exit could trigger Chelsea pursuit of Camavinga and force Arsenal's hand over Zubimendi

A potential £120 million sale of Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City in the final days of the summer window could trigger a multi-club chain reaction involving Real Madrid and Arsenal, with an estimated £298 million in combined transfer fees at stake.

City, who have already lost Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Tijani Reijnders and Nico Gonzalez — the latter in a £50 million move to Newcastle United — are expected to submit a bid for the Chelsea midfielder before the September 1 deadline. Chelsea have placed a £120 million valuation on Fernandez, but manager Enzo Maresca is understood to be working on a replacement shortlist should the Argentine depart.

According to Ben Jacobs of talkSPORT, Chelsea’s four-man shortlist includes Manu Kone, Adam Wharton, Alex Scott and Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga, with the French midfielder potentially available for around £51 million. Camavinga has struggled for playing time at the Bernabeu, featuring for just 22 combined minutes across Real Madrid’s opening two La Liga fixtures under Jose Mourinho.

Should Real Madrid sanction a Camavinga sale, they could turn their attention to Arsenal’s Martin Zubimendi as a replacement. The World Cup winner has been valued at approximately £77 million and was the subject of Madrid’s interest as recently as 12 months ago, when the Spanish club failed to disrupt Arsenal’s move for the Spaniard.

However, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has firmly closed the door on any Zubimendi departure. The midfielder came off the bench in the Gunners’ 3-0 win over Coventry City and Arteta has made his stance unambiguous. “No, he’s a really important player,” Arteta said when asked about a potential exit. “Without a doubt, he was one of the best players for Arsenal last season. Without him, we would never have got into the position that we got into in the last few weeks.”

Zubimendi’s arrival at the Emirates was further complicated by Bruno Guimaraes joining the club earlier this month, reportedly leaving the former Real Sociedad man lower in the pecking order — though Arteta’s comments suggest he has no intention of allowing the midfielder to leave regardless of squad depth.

With the window closing on September 1, several of these moves remain speculative, and any deal in this chain depends on the first domino — Fernandez’s exit from Chelsea — actually falling.