Manchester City have reached an agreement with Chelsea to sign Enzo Fernandez for a joint-British record transfer fee of £125million.
In a protracted transfer saga, City's purchase of Fernandez will match the £125m fee Liverpool paid to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle United a year ago today.
Man City had been linked with the Argentinian midfielder long before the transfer window had even opened with Enzo Maresca keen to reunite with Fernandez after working with him at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea were initially relucant to let Fernandez leave, especially to a Premier League rival. The Blues had set an informal deadline demanding any interested parties stump up £120m for Fernandez by 5pm BST on Friday 14th August.
Man City failed to make contact before the date, and Chelsea warned that any club wishing to sign Fernandez would have to pay more to acquire the 2022 World Cup winner.
The Citizens stepped up their efforts in the closing stages of the window and according to BBC Sport, a fee of £125m has been agreed by both parties.
Fernandez will now undergo his medical ahead of signing a long-term deal at the Etihad Stadium.
The 25-year-old will be City's third major midfield recruit following the purchases of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest and Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille.
There was an expectation that Chelsea would only sanction Fernandez's exit if they could sort a replacement, but it appears that Xabi Alonso's midfield ranks will not be replenished before the end of the window.
Fernandez did not start in either of Chelsea's opening two Premier League fixtures. The midfielder was overlooked despite Moises Caicedo's injury, with Malo Gusto being preferred to partner Romeo Lavia in the pivot during the 4-3 victory over Brighton.
Fernandez's switch from London to Manchester means the midfielder has cost just shy of £250m across his career, with Benfica splashing €18m to sign him from River Plate in June 2022 before selling him to Chelsea for what was a British record £106.8m in January 2023.
It also means four of the Premier League's six most expensive signings have been completed in 2026, with Morgan Rogers' switch to Chelsea, Anderson's move to Man City and Bradley Barcola's transfer to Liverpool all surpassing the £100m barrier.
Most expensive Premier League transfers
- Alexander Isak - £125m - Newcastle to Liverpool
Enzo Fernandez - £125m - Chelsea to Man City - Morgan Rogers - £117m - Aston Villa to Chelsea
- Elliot Anderson - £116m - Nottingham Forest to Man City
- Enzo Fernandez - £106.8m - Benfica to Chelsea
- Bradley Barcola - £106m - PSG to Liverpool
- Jack Grealish - £100m - Aston Villa to Man City
- Florian Wirtz - £100m - Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool
- Declan Rice - £100m - West Ham to Arsenal
- Moises Caicedo - £100m - Brighton to Chelsea
- Romelu Lukaku - £97.5m - Inter to Chelsea
