Manchester City have reached an agreement with Chelsea to sign Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernández for £125 million.
Enzo Fernández
Club: Chelsea
The deal's value matches the current British transfer record, set by Liverpool last summer when they signed Alexander Isak from Newcastle United in a transaction also completed during the final days of the transfer window.
Fernández's transfer brings an end to a prolonged saga concerning the 25-year-old's future at Chelsea.
The London club had announced on August 14 that it expected Fernández to remain with the team for the 2026–27 season, after its self-imposed deadline passed without Manchester City submitting an offer to sign him.
Chelsea had valued Fernández at £120 million and insisted at the time that if no offer of that magnitude was received within the specified timeframe, the player would not leave the club this summer.
The London club clarified that its conditions had been communicated to both Manchester City and Fernández's camp, adding that the player's representatives had been aware of the club's valuation since May.
However, The Athletic reported on Monday that Manchester City turned its attention to Fernández after its attempt to sign Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo was rejected, with the English club turning down an offer worth £80 million, before the two clubs now reached an agreement on the Argentine player's deal.
Fernández had faced boos from Chelsea fans during the team's final pre-season friendly against Real Sociedad, and the same occurred again in the Premier League opener against Fulham.
At the end of the Fulham match, the player headed straight to the tunnel leading to the dressing rooms without joining his teammates in front of the home supporters, and he also missed the subsequent two matches against Luton Town in the EFL Cup and Brighton in the league on Sunday.
Fernández joined Chelsea from Benfica in January 2023 for £106.8 million, a deal that at the time represented the British transfer record, and his contract with the club runs until 2032.
The player had raised doubts about his future at Chelsea on several occasions during the latter stages of the 2025–26 season, ultimately leading former manager Liam Rosenior to exclude him from two matches in April.
Fernández's agent, former Argentina international Javier Pastore, told The Athletic at the time that the punishment was completely unfair, before the player later apologized and returned to the squad.
In April, The Athletic reported that Manchester City was considering the possibility of signing Fernández to strengthen its midfield during the summer.
City had already signed English midfielder Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for £116 million, along with Ayoub Bouaddi from Lille for an initial fee of €95 million.
This follows Rodri's move to Barcelona, Tijjani Reijnders' departure to Al-Qadsiah in Saudi Arabia, while Tottenham Hotspur signed Savio and Omar Marmoush.
Fernández previously worked under new Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca for 18 months during the Italian coach's tenure at Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid publicly denied earlier this summer reports linking them with a move for the Argentine midfielder, who won the 2022 World Cup.
Fernández made 170 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 31 goals and providing 30 assists.
