Manchester City continue to reshape their midfield following Rodri’s move to Barcelona this summer.
The Spain international left a major gap after completing his transfer back to La Liga. City have therefore accelerated their midfield recruitment under Enzo Maresca.
Elliot Anderson has already arrived in a club-record £116 million deal from Nottingham Forest.
City are also preparing to announce Ayyoub Bouaddi’s £85 million arrival from Lille. However, Maresca still wants another established midfielder.
Enzo Fernandez remains firmly on City’s radar after working with Maresca at Chelsea. The City manager values the Argentina international and wants to reunite with him at the Etihad Stadium.
Fernandez also wants the move, but Chelsea’s valuation has created a significant obstacle.
According to TEAMtalk, Manchester City have decided they will not pay £120 million for Fernandez.
City also have no intention of exceeding the £116 million they spent on Anderson earlier this summer.
Chelsea want more than £120 million after their previous deadline for interested clubs expired.
That stance currently leaves a sizeable difference between the two clubs. Despite the disagreement, negotiations have continued behind the scenes.
Chelsea have allowed Jorge Mendes to become involved as intermediaries attempt to find a compromise.
Fernandez’s agent Javier Pastore is also working with those involved to bring the clubs closer together. However, neither side currently wants to change its position.
Chelsea remain comfortable keeping Fernandez for the 2026-27 campaign. Xabi Alonso also believes the midfielder would suit his system.
City remain interested but refuse to meet Chelsea’s current demands. Their decision means Chelsea must lower their valuation for negotiations to progress under the present circumstances.
Alternatively, City would need to reverse their position and spend more than they currently consider acceptable. For now, neither scenario has happened.
City will therefore continue monitoring the situation while completing their wider midfield rebuild before the transfer window closes.
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