Maresca downplays late City move for Enzo Fernandez
Enzo Maresca has cooled talk of a dramatic late swoop for Enzo Fernandez, insisting Manchester City are not expecting to do any business on Friday despite a hard deadline set by Chelsea.
City have been heavily linked with the Argentina midfielder, but the clock is ticking. Chelsea are understood to have set a firm cut-off of 5pm BST on Friday, August 14, for any bids to land on their desk, with Fernandez valued at £120 million.
The timing is tight. The price is eye-watering. And Maresca is in no mood to fan the flames.
Speaking ahead of City’s Community Shield clash with Arsenal this weekend, the Italian was asked directly whether fans could anticipate a reunion with Fernandez before the day was out.
“Not today, to be honest. I don't think we're going to do something today,” he said in his Friday morning press conference, drawing a clear line under hopes of a last-minute splash.
Pressed again on Fernandez, Maresca stuck rigidly to the managers’ code.
“In this moment, again, I have to give you the same answer since day one. It will always be the same. It's a player from another club, I don't think it's correct to talk about him.
“At the same time, I don't think it's correct for other clubs to speak about our players. That's why I'm not going to say anything about players that aren't with us.”
No hint. No tease. Just a firm refusal to be drawn into Chelsea’s deadline drama.
Reijnders closing in on Saudi switch
While Fernandez talk was shut down, Maresca did acknowledge that one significant outgoing is close.
Tijjani Reijnders is on the brink of joining Saudi Pro League side Al Qadsiah after an agreement worth £51.2m was reached on Thursday. The deal is not yet rubber-stamped, but the endgame is in sight.
“Tij is not officially done, but we'll see in the next hour,” Maresca revealed. “I already spoke with him a few times in pre-season, then we will see if he is going to leave or if he is going to stay.”
Maresca’s comments underlined that this is not a player being pushed out. On the contrary, he sounded genuinely impressed by what he has seen.
“In the way he was playing in the pre-season games, I was quite happy with his performance overall. I know Tij from Italy, from Milan when he was there so I know him quite well.
“I know there he was playing in a different position, he likes to play a little more deep rather than high up the pitch, but again in the pre-season he was good, then we'll see what happens and we'll decide.”
So while Chelsea’s 5pm line in the sand hangs over any late move for Fernandez, City’s day looks set to be defined not by a blockbuster arrival, but by whether Reijnders boards a flight to Saudi Arabia.
