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When Chelsea take to the field against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, Enzo Fernandez will almost certainly not be in the starting line-up. The strange thing is, that won’t really come as a surprise.
A blockbuster £107 million ($132m at the time) signing from Benfica in January 2023, the midfielder is no longer a guaranteed starter under Enzo Maresca despite being made vice-captain in the summer, as the team seemingly evolves and progresses without him.
Consistently inconsistent, the Argentine finds himself in a funk and risks being left behind if he cannot find his place in the Italian’s plans by rediscovering some his best form and, crucially, maintaining it.
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InstagramWorst possible start
Of course, Fernandez was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons before a ball had been kicked this season; amid Argentina’s wild Copa America victory celebrations in July, Enzo was the man holding the camera and bizarrely live-streaming as he and his compatriots belted out a racist and transphobic chant at the expense of France’s national team.
The song included the words “they play in France, but they are all from Angola” and “their mum is Nigerian, their dad is Cameroonian, but on the passport it says: French”.
A deserved backlash arrived quickly, as a number of his Chelsea colleagues – many of whom are of Afro-French descent – turned on Fernandez and unfollowed him on Instagram. Centre-back Wesley Fofana labelled the incident “unabashed racism”.
Fernandez inevitably apologised, claiming he “stands against discrimination in all forms” and apologised for “getting caught up in the euphoria”. “That video, that moment, those words, do not reflect my character or beliefs. I am truly sorry,” he wrote.
However, his actions still resulted in disciplinary action from Chelsea and a FIFA investigation. Although there were reports of a rift, his club-mates, including Fofana, eventually forgave him – but it would be remiss to say the debacle hasn’t had some effect on him this season.
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Getty ImagesMidfield misfit
On the pitch, Fernandez’s performances this season haven’t all been bad, but he certainly hasn’t shown the level of consistency many would expect of a £107m player. Indeed, ahead of the trip to Man Utd he has lost his place in Maresca’s so-called ‘A team’.
Fernandez had been a starter in the early part of the season, aided by Romeo Lavia’s five-week absence as a result of a hamstring injury suffered after an impressive showing on the opening day of the Premier League season against Manchester City. However, now Lavia is back to full fitness, Fernandez has been dropped.
The Belgian started the previous two league games against Liverpool and Newcastle, with Maresca tweaking his tactics in favour of more defensive solidity and in-form Moises Caicedo playing the role of the shuttling midfielder in the manager’s preferred 4-3-3 shape, while Cole Palmer has, of course, been starring as a No.10. At present, it’s hard to see how Fernandez fits.
He certainly hasn’t been the creative force Chelsea would have hoped in 2024-25, and arguably since he signed; a deep-lying playmaker, Fernandez is yet to register a league goal or assist this campaign, and his pass completion percentage in the league is concerningly low at 80.7. Meanwhile, there are question marks over whether he has the stamina and physicality to be effective as a defensive midfielder.
The vast majority of Blues followers have backed Fernandez to the hilt in the belief that he will come good and become one of the best midfielders on the planet, with a damning recent statistical comparison of Chelsea’s win rate with and without him (35% with, 81% without) swiftly rubbished. Patience, though, may soon run thin.
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Getty Images SportWeight of expectation
For his part, Maresca believes both Fernandez and, previously, Caicedo have both been suffering under the weight of the eye-watering £100m+ transfer fees Chelsea paid for their respective services in 2023, as the former arrived from Benfica in January and the latter was signed from Brighton in the summer.
The head coach has openly admitted he feels the club made a mistake by paying that much and putting that expectation on the pair’s shoulders.
“The price does not have to be a problem for them, it’s something that the players can do nothing about,” the Italian said recently. “Sometimes players feel under pressure because the club pay too much, but this is a big problem and is a weight on the shoulders which does not help the players.”
There is certainly some truth in that. Fernandez has always been fighting a losing battle in trying to live up to that price tag, and it’s more likely than not that he never will with few players truly worth that astronomical sum. All Chelsea can hope for in the short-term is some consistency, with the 23-year-old more than capable of turning things around.
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AFPMore off-field issues
It has emerged that more off-field issues could be taking their toll, too. Fernandez’s wife and mother of his two children, influencer Valentina Cervantes, has announced on social media that her husband has moved out of the family home.
She wrote on Instagram: “Enzo and I have decided to take some distance from each other today. But we will always be family, and we will support each other in everything. Because there are two children involved who need a lot of love from us. I know the person Enzo is and what an excellent father he is, as well as the heart he has. And that is enough for me. Please don’t try to create conflicts where there are none.”
Per the Daily Mail, journalist Julieta Argenta has reported that the Argentine wants to experience living alone – a stage he allegedly feels he skipped having started a family at a young age, as so many footballers do. Meanwhile, he has also been disqualified from driving and hit with a fine. There will surely be concerns at Chelsea that the upheaval in his personal life is affecting his form and concentration.
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Getty Images SportNew low
Fernandez’s woeful performance against Newcastle in midweek was perhaps the clearest sign yet that something is amiss, as he captained the ‘B team’ to a dismal Carabao Cup loss.
Usually so reliable as a ball-playing midfielder at least, Chelsea’s No.8 misplaced pass after pass (22 in total) and looked off the pace against the Magpies’ physical central pair, with Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton emerging as the clear winners of that mini Brazil vs Argentina battle.
A lowlights compilation of his struggles went viral on X, as well as another video which appeared to show Maresca turning away in disgust on the touchline as Fernandez tried and failed to thread a pass through Newcastle’s midfield. That incident even prompted many online Chelsea fans to call for the £107m man to be sold.
Speaking after the 2-0 defeat, Maresca seemed to admit that Fernandez had contributed to a loss of control in the game. “For me, we lost the game because of 10 minutes after we conceded the first goal,” he said. “After that, for 10 minutes, we lost the control. We need more control but it’s not only from Enzo, it’s in general.”
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GettySurplus to requirements?
Maresca has a huge task on his hands in helping to restore Fernandez to some kind of consistent form amid the off-field issues that could be affecting him. Although there is stiff competition in the squad, it is absurd to have a £107m, £180,000-per-week player out of form and warming the bench.
Other than being a rotation option, the way to include him in the line-up may be reconfiguring the attack. With neither Pedro Neto nor Jadon Sancho yet locking down the left wing, Palmer could be shifted into a roaming wide role so Fernandez can play as that advanced-midfield shuttler, with Lavia and Caicedo behind him. Of course, he needs to justify his place first.
A particularly exasperated section of the Chelsea fanbase is resolved to see the Argentine sold at the earliest possible opportunity, amid links to Real Madrid and a far-fetched swap deal for Aurelien Tchouameni. If an offer of around £80m ($103m) did arrive in the summer, might the club be tempted to sell?
For now, the hierarchy will surely be reluctant to cut their losses on the man who remains the statement signing of the Clearlake Capital-Todd Boehly era to date. Fernandez has shown in moments that he possesses world-class potential, but now is time to step up and carve out his role in Maresca’s side. His future at Chelsea may well depend on it.
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