Man City agree £125m Enzo Fernandez deal to equal British transfer record

Manchester City have agreed a £125m fee with Chelsea for Enzo Fernandez, with the Argentina midfielder set to join the FA Cup winners on the final day of the summer transfer window in a deal that equals the British record.

The fee matches the sum Liverpool paid for Alexander Isak last summer, making Fernandez one of the most expensive footballers in history. He cost Chelsea a then-record £107m when he arrived from Benfica in January 2023, going on to score 31 goals in 170 appearances for the club.

Fernandez, 25, had sat out Chelsea’s last two matches while seeking a move, having been booed by both sets of supporters during what proved to be his final appearance — a 3-2 win over Fulham. Chelsea had attempted to set a 5pm deadline on 14 August for bids, but City did not submit an offer until the window’s closing day.

The deal would form part of a remarkable summer of spending at the Etihad. City have already broken their own transfer record with the £116m arrival of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest, and also brought in Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille for £85m. Should the Fernandez move complete alongside a separate pursuit of Iliman Ndiaye from Everton for an initial £60m, City’s total summer outlay would reach approximately £430m — with more than £320m of that spent on midfield reinforcements alone.

Chelsea, meanwhile, were continuing to pursue replacements for Fernandez, with Manu Kone of Roma and Lamine Camara of Monaco among their targets as the window closed.

Fernandez had grown disillusioned at Stamford Bridge following the sacking of head coach Enzo Maresca, with whom he had remained in contact after the Italian’s departure. His exit brings to an end a two-and-a-half-year spell at Chelsea that began with record-breaking fanfare but concluded in a fractious atmosphere.