Xabi Alonso Confirms Enzo Fernandez Will Stay at Chelsea

Xabi Alonso insists Enzo Fernandez is going nowhere – at least for now.

The Chelsea head coach says the Argentina midfielder has returned with a “really good attitude” as talk swirls over a potential move to Manchester City, who are managed by his former Stamford Bridge boss Enzo Maresca.

Chelsea had given Fernandez’s agent, Javier Pastore, a clear route out earlier in the summer. A price of £120m was set in late May and a hard deadline of 14 August agreed for any bids to land. That date passed last Friday without a formal offer.

The response from Chelsea since has been blunt. The club have told Fernandez’s camp he is not for sale in this window.

City, though, have not been easily discouraged. They remain keen on the 25-year-old and believe Chelsea are still open to doing business despite the public stance. The Premier League champions see an opportunity; Chelsea are drawing a line.

For Alonso, the noise stops at the training pitch.

As his side prepare for their Premier League opener away to Fulham on Monday, the Spaniard underlined where Fernandez stands in his plans. Asked on Thursday whether the midfielder would still be at Stamford Bridge when the transfer window closes on 1 September, Alonso was clear.

“Enzo is a Chelsea player. We are happy with him and he's getting ready for Monday,” he said.

Alonso stressed that Fernandez, who rejoined the group after the World Cup, has “integrated really well” and is “training really well”, a message aimed as much at the dressing room as at any watching suitors.

“I see him with a really good attitude and that's what we want,” he added.

So the picture is simple on the surface: a £120m talent, a missed deadline, a firm hands-off warning, and a manager backing his midfielder to lead the way at Craven Cottage.

Whether Manchester City test that resolve before 1 September is the question that now hangs over Chelsea’s start to the season.