Manchester City are set to make an opening offer for Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
The Argentina international has been identified by manager Enzo Maresca as a priority target to bolster City’s midfield after a series of high-profile exits.
Chelsea are aware of City’s interest and set an unofficial deadline for the deal to be completed earlier this summer at a minimum fee of £120m only for that date to pass.
Nevertheless, City are expected to return with another attempt to sign the 25-year-old before next week’s transfer deadline.
Fernandez could become one of the most expensive signings in Premier League history, behind only Liverpool’s £125m move for Alexander Isak last summer.
Fernandez maintains a positive relationship with Maresca, who left Chelsea in controversial fashion on New Year’s Day and moved to Etihad Stadium in June.
It could potentially be the second time City break their transfer record in the same window having paid £116m to recruit Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest.
There have also been four major midfield departures, with Tijjani Reijnders sold to Saudi Arabian club Al-Qadsiah for £52m, while Barcelona have signed Rodri for £65m, Newcastle have agreed a £52m deal to sign Nico Gonzalez and Bernardo Silva departed earlier in the summer before joining Real Madrid.
It has been a turbulent period for Fernandez at Stamford Bridge, during which he and his agent, former Paris St-Germain midfielder Javier Pastore, courted interest from Real Madrid, only for the Spanish club to issue a statement denying any attempt to sign him.
The situation has been ongoing since Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions League by PSG in March, after which Fernandez became increasingly critical of the club.
New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso spoke in July about a private conversation he had with Fernandez, who signed for £107m from Benfica in 2023, but declined to disclose details of the discussion.
Fernandez came on as a second-half substitute in Monday’s 3-2 win over Fulham and was booed by home supporters because of his role in England’s World Cup exit.
After briefly celebrating with the away fans and his team-mates after the final whistle, he was the first Chelsea player to head down the tunnel.
Chelsea’s record sale is Eden Hazard’s move to Real Madrid in 2019, which was worth an initial £89m plus add-ons taking it up to a potential £150m.