Chelsea star ‘open’ to transfer as agent of Enzo Fernandez ‘begins talks with various clubs’

Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez is now considering his options after a nightmare first year at Stamford Bridge, according to reports.

The World Cup winner joined from Benfica in January 2023 for a fee of €121m, which was the biggest transfer in the Blues’ history and the most expensive transfer of all time in the Premier League.

Fernandez’s stock rose at the last World Cup in Qatar with the 23-year-old winning the Best Young Player Award at the tournament.

That tempted Chelsea into spending a huge sum of money on the midfielder with the Blues splurging over £1billion in transfer fees since a Todd Boehly-led consortium completed their takeover of the Premier League club in May 2022.

Chelsea have failed to convert the money they’ve been spending off the pitch to results on the pitch with the Blues finishing 12th in the Premier League last term.

And Mauricio Pochettino, who was appointed at the end of last season, has failed to turn around their fortunes with Chelsea currently 11th after losing 4-2 at home to Wolves over the weekend.

READ MORE: Chelsea urged to sack Pochettino while Liverpool seek celebration justice…

There are rumours that Pochettino is now under pressure from the Chelsea hierarchy, although other reports insist that the Blues board will assess him at the end of the season.

And there may be other changes coming too with Football Transfers claiming that Fernandez is ‘considering a departure from the club’ just one year after joining.

The report adds: ‘The player’s agents, including his long-time representative Uriel Perez, have begun talks with various clubs to explore potential opportunities for the talented midfielder.’

Fernandez has faced criticism this season with former Liverpool player Steve Nicol doubting his and Moises Caicedo’s ability to provide goals from the midfield.

Nicol said on ESPN: “There’s nothing from the middle of the park. Conor Gallagher I don’t think he has a Premier League goal this season.

“Enzo and Caicedo don’t look as though they’re going to be scoring any goals soon. I mean, it’s just a long list of where are the goals coming from.”

Speaking about Fernandez and Caicedo after last month’s defeat to Everton in December, Pochettino said: “The relationship between them needs to improve of course, between them and individually also. They are young, the expectation is massive when you arrive.

“Caicedo had one season in Brighton and Enzo after three months in Europe, he was in Benfica before arriving to the Premier League. Arriving not in the best place to perform quick because they need to be part of the solution.

“They are not the cherry of the cake. When you arrive in a team that is in a building process and you’re young with not too much experience, even if you have good quality and people can see the club paid big money and only for that you need to perform, it is not like this in football. Some people think in this way because they don’t know about football.”