It has been a busy day of transfer activity for Manchester City. Tijjani Reijnders is set to complete a move to Saudi Pro League club Al Qadsiah. Fabrizio Romano has reported that City will sell the Dutch international for £52.1 million. The imminent departure of Reijnders does open up space in Manchester City’s midfield for a new signing to come in. Manchester City have a preference for any player that departs the club, a replacement will come in. With Reijnders set to leave City it would seem that the stage is being set for Manchester City to make their move to sign Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea.
Enzo Maresca is eager to add Enzo Fernandez to his Manchester City squad and that potential move does loom large.
If Manchester City are to sign Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea, they have to move quickly. As David Ornstein reported for The Athletic yesterday, Chelsea have imposed a deadline of 5pm tomorrow for a bid for Fernandez to come in. Chelsea’s are also demanding £120 million to sell one of their most important midfielders. Judging by how quickly Reijnders’ move to Al Qadsiah came together, it seems that City are getting their ducks in a row to make their move.
What is known is that Enzo Maresca is desperate to add Enzo Fernandez to his Manchester City squad. Maresca knows Fernandez intimately from their time together at Chelsea. Maresca knows Fernandez’s strengths both as a player and the type of personality that he is. Daniel Feliciano has reported for Give Me Sport that Maresca is keen to add the Argentinian midfielder to his squad. It is now a wait-and-see game for City to submit an offer to Chelsea for the World Cup-winning midfielder. But based on today’s events, that seems to be where the story is heading.
Final thoughts.
Tijjani Reijnders is set to leave Manchester City imminently after just one season at the club. What is apparent is that City wouldn’t sanction his sale if they didn’t have a replacement midfielder in mind or lined up. That player seems to be Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez. City appears to be getting their ducks in a row for the signing of another midfielder. At this stage of proceedings it would come as a major surprise if City didn’t attempt to meet Chelsea’s deadline, and terms, to sign the Argentinian international.
The deadline for City to make an offer is 5pm today. I am off to the Etihad to cut all the phone lines.
Does Maresca want to start his reign with this pot of trouble especially as he himself left under a cloud. I have not met a single fan who wants to see him in a City shirt.
I get it you don’t like him.
Not just me Adam and I think if you polled City fans I am confident that the overwhelming numbers feel the same way. In fact I see that no one in your comments section to date has posted their approval.
Sign him and trouble will follow, remember Carlos Tevez?
Perhaps we’ll find out, perhaps we won’t.
Tevez helped win the league with Mancini in the end,so that worked out. So wait and see. If City sign Enzo Fernandez, they’ll have seen something and have done their proper due diligence.
One thing they won’t do is rush into a decision on a move for him due to a ‘deadline’. If they’d identified him as a target a fair while ago, as has been reported, none of this is rushed.
At the end of the day, if the City hierarchy feel that Enzo Fernandez improves the squad, and the price is right they’ll make their move irrespective of what anyone else thinks.
Tevez caused a lot of upheaval and was suspended. I know he came back to help win the PL but went shortly afterwards with the clubs blessing.
To think a Club’s harmony, which includes the fans, does not matter is a bit naive. Over the past 10 years “Harmony” has become the byword and anyone rocking the boat is quietly “moved on” like Cancelo.
If anything goes awry it may prove a costly mistake. As for “due diligence” what about Phillips?
I’m aware, like all City fans, of how the Tevez situation played out. The end result was, he helped us win two trophies during his time at the club, that is part of his legacy as well as the unfortunate incident against Bayern Munich.
I never said the clubs ‘harmony’ isn’t important. I generally try and look at everything through a glass half full lense rather than look at the negative of every situation which is so prevalent these days. Even Enzo Fernandez. Is he an unsavoury character with a chequered past? Yes he is. No one disputes that. It isn’t even up for debate. My point is, and was, if Enzo Maresca wants him, he’d be more than qualified to make an assessment on whether or not Fernandez would be a detriment to the clubs culture. Maresca knows the player, and our culture, better than most. That is the point I’m trying to convey. If the club believes that Enzo Fernandez can make a difference they’ll attempt to make the move. That’s the reality. Is it in play now the ‘deadline’ has passed? Time will tell.
As for Phillips and due diligence, not every signing comes off. We could sit here and list them all. Nolito, Mangala, Steven Jovetic, and a plethora of others didn’t pan out as hoped. That’s football. It happens.
You could safely mount the argument that we’re looking at Enzo Fernandez in the first place cause Tijjani Reijnders and other midfielders we signed didn’t pan out. Reijnders is about to leave and we do need to sign a higher quality of midfielder, hence the Enzo Fernandez links.
We all may not like Enzo Fernandez as a person, or his antics on the pitch, but he is a quality midfielder. As for describing the racism scandal and other antics I can think of a lot harsher words to describe that side of him.
I take your point Adam but I caution wisdom .Maresco has only been with us a couple of months so perhaps he should avoid any mishaps.
Clever men solve problems but WISE men never let them happen in the first place.