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Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior has addressed rumors that star midfielder Enzo Fernández has attracted interest from both Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.
Speculation has emerged that the Blues could be willing to sanction the sale of their World Cup-winning midfielder if the right offer comes along, with the two clubs believed to be keen on the Argentina star.
Fernandez future at Chelsea in doubt
Fernandez’s future at Chelsea is in the spotlight amid talk he could be on the move. Chelsea are said to no longer view the Argentine as “untouchable” and are willing to sell for the “right price”. Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain have both been linked amid claims the two clubs are eager to add a world-class midfielder to their squads. Fernandez cost Chelsea an eye-watering $131 million when he joined the club from Benfica in 2023 and certainly won’t come cheap if he does move on again. Yet the midfielder is also said to be “considering his future” following the departure of Enzo Maresca as head coach.
Rosenior responds to transfer talk
New Chelsea boss Rosenior has been quizzed on the transfer talk and shared his thoughts on Fernandez. He told reporters: “It means nothing to me. When you’re a world-class player, there is always going to be speculation you cannot control. Enzo has been outstanding in the time I have worked with him. He was ill on Saturday, the way he covered the ground, it surprised me. He’s a Chelsea player. I hope we’re going to have a successful working relationship in the long term and short term.”
Rosenior also spoke about Fernandez’s best position, adding: “I think Enzo, because he’s got an extreme skillset; technically he’s outstanding and he covers ground well, he finishes, he scores goals, he arrives late in the box, he arrives well in the box. A player of his level can do many different things. I need to find out what the chemistry is like around his position, not just him but for all the players. I don’t say players are one position, I’ve always used players in different roles. I will do that with Enzo because he’s an outstanding player.”
Fernandez a doubt for Champions League clash
Fernandez is in the midst of a strong season with Chelsea but could be set to miss Wednesday’s Champions League meeting with Pafos at Stamford Bridge. The midfielder is the latest Chelsea player to be affected by a virus that has swept through the squad, with Rosenior offering an update ahead of the match. He said: “Enzo trained today. None of those lads are at 100 per cent. It’s a bad illness. So we’ll make that decision on Enzo tomorrow and what he looks like in terms of style from the bench. Enzo Fernandez was ill yesterday and missed training. There were signs of it during the game and that goes to show the type of performance that he put in against Brentford.”
Sterling and Disasi on the move?
Rosenior also offered an update on Raheem Sterling and Axel Diasasi, two members of Chelsea’s infamous ‘bomb squad’. He said: “We’re in conversations with Raheem at the moment about different things going on in his career. Hopefully, that will be clearer in the next couple of days.”
Disasi, meanwhile, trained with the first team squad again ahead of the tie with Pafos and Rosenior explained the situation: “My decision on Axel: I had a really good meeting with him a couple of days ago. I said to the players when I came in, it’s a clean slate for everybody. So it was only right for me to have a conversation with him. Really good conversation. I got to know him really, really well. It was the right thing to be back involved with the group. Because of the situation he’s been in, he’s behind in terms of his match fitness. We’ll keep working with him really, really hard to get him up to speed.”
What comes next?
Rosenior will take charge of a Champions League match for the first time on Wednesday when Cypriot outfit Pafos visit west London. It’s the Blues’ penultimate game of the group phase, with Rosenior’s side heading to Napoli next week for their final fixture. Rosenior admits he’s hoping to avoid the play-offs and is eager to clinch automatic qualification: “It would be optimal, it would be great. When you’re a new manager coming in, you want those extra training days to work.”
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