It is said that Real Madrid is ready to either pay £84 million for Enzo Fernandez or offer Aurelien Tchouameni to Chelsea as part of the deal to get the player.
Chelsea has one of the world’s most expensive teams. It’s not a surprise since they’ve spent more than £1 billion since Todd Boehly became chairman in 2022.
Fernandez was one of their most expensive signings during that time. He had just won the World Cup with Argentina when he was bought.
Even though Chelsea paid a huge £106.8 million for him in 2023, he isn’t popular with the fans this season, and Real Madrid wants to take advantage.
According to Fichajes, the Argentine has become their top goal to improve their midfield. He also says that he might be looking for a change of scenery since he doesn’t get much playing time at Chelsea right now.
Real is said to be ready to pay €100 million (£84 million/$108.5 million) for Fernandez or give up Tchouameni.
In fact, the second choice would mean not having to sell another player to make room and money, and it would also mean that Fernandez would command a lower fee.
Chelsea had been interested in Tchouameni before
The source of the rumor makes it less likely to be true, but the Chelsea midfielder has been linked with Barcelona before, so it’s not too hard to think that Real is interested.
He isn’t playing well right now, though, so Real might decide to wait and see if he gets better.
Chelsea paid a lot of money to get him, so they must think he’s good, but Enzo Maresca has a lot of players to choose from, so Fernandez might not be needed.
The Blues have been linked with the signing of Tchouameni before, when Conor Gallagher left for Atletico Madrid. Because of this, it is not impossible that they would let a poor Fernandez go in order to sign a player they want.
Real Madrid roundup: Premier League stars being looked at
This isn’t the only player from the Premier League that Real wants to sign.
Reports say that their final goal is to sign Rodri, who is said to be wanted to get rid of Tchouameni.
In the meantime, Real Madrid is stepping up its efforts to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold.
He’s being called “the chosen one” for the summer transfer window of 2025, when he should be free to move, and they will try to step up their efforts in the winter, when the Liverpool star can start talking about a deal in Spain.
Fernandez’s recent hard times
Even though he started the season with Chelsea, Fernandez has been having a hard time getting minutes lately.
He started the first six Premier League games he was healthy enough to play in. He missed the fourth game of the season because of illness. He also started one game in the UEFA Conference League.
But he didn’t play in the first Conference League game and has started the last two Premier League games from the bench because Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo are better at holding midfield, and Cole Palmer is the clear favorite to play No. 10.
Fernandez only played for 18 minutes against Newcastle in the Premier League last time out. The fact that the team won says that they could play without him from the start, especially since he has only set up one goal this season and not helped with any others.