Update on Chelsea’s midfielder search as Blues make risky transfer gamble

Chelsea’s decision to sell Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City is reportedly not contingent on a new signing coming in to replace him in that position.

The Argentina international is set to leave Chelsea for Man City in a deal worth £125m, but it remains to be seen if anyone will be coming in to bolster Xabi Alonso’s options in that area of the pitch.

— Jacob Steinberg (@JacobSteinberg) September 1, 2026

Fee is fixed at £125m, bringing Chelsea up to close to £500m in sales, and deal is not contingent on club adding to their squad. Checks made on Camara and Kone but neither midfielder close as it stands.

— Jacob Steinberg (@JacobSteinberg) September 1, 2026

“Enzo Fernandez to City agreed at £125m,” Steinberg posted, before adding: “Fee is fixed at £125m, bringing Chelsea up to close to £500m in sales, and deal is not contingent on club adding to their squad. Checks made on Camara and Kone but neither midfielder close as it stands.”

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Chelsea taking a gamble with Enzo Fernandez transfer

Chelsea have a number of other options in midfield at the moment, with Moises Caicedo still likely to be a key player, while others like Reece James and Valentin Barco can play there.

Romeo Lavia also seems to be becoming more of an important player for Chelsea as he looks to put his injury nightmares behind him, so it could be that CFC end up being reasonably well-stocked in that department.

Still, it’s undoubtedly a risk letting someone like Fernandez go without a replacement lined up, so it will be interesting to see if they can find a solution in the next few hours.

Chelsea make £500m from player sales

As Steinberg notes, Chelsea have now made as much as £500m from player sales this summer.

Another midfielder included in that is Andrey Santos, who joined Manchester United earlier in the window, so that’s now two of their big rivals that they’ve potentially strengthened quite significantly.

Marc Cucurella, Nicolas Jackson, and Liam Delap are among the other big names to leave, while Alejandro Garnacho, Axel Disasi, and Benoit Badiashile have all left on loan.