Sport
Enzo Fernandez’s Real Madrid comments prove there is a rotten culture within Chelsea
Enzo Fernandez had a good seat for Chelsea’s FA Cup demolition of Port Vale on Saturday. Sat behind the home team dugout, the Argentinean midfielder played no part due to his suspension for making comments about a potential summer transfer to Real Madrid and he didn’t look too bothered.
Indeed, Fernandez spent much of the match talking and laughing with Marc Cucurella, another Chelsea player who made notable comments about his future at Stamford Bridge. In fairness, there was a lot to enjoy about the Blues’ 7-0 win over League One opposition to make the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
That Fernandez as club captain, however, felt comfortable enough to fan the flames of speculation linking him with another team revealed something about the rotten culture within Chelsea. The 25-year-old is meant to be a leader for the Stamford Bridge outfit. Instead, he’s seemingly plotting a way out.
This is what happens when a club positions itself as a player trading platform, as Chelsea have. The way they do business means players arrive at Stamford Bridge not thinking of what they might achieve there, but of how they might use it as a springboard to something bigger and better.
Chelsea aren’t set up to compete for the biggest prizes in English and European football. This extends to their hiring of Liam Rosenior to replace Enzo Maresca earlier this season despite the 41-year-old lacking the qualifications for such a big job. Rather than appointing a top-level manager, Chelsea wanted someone to fit into their system and tolerate it.
Fernandez has spent the last three-and-a-half seasons as a Chelsea player. At first, the midfielder was slow to live up to his £106.8m price tag, taking time to acclimatise to his new surroundings. More recently, though, Fernandez has imposed himself as one of the most accomplished central operators in the Premier League.
The Stamford Bridge side would be worse off for not having Fernandez even if there remains some discussion over his best position. The Argentine would surely like to play most matches as a number 10, but this is also Cole Palmer’s best position. As a number eight, Fernandez can sometimes be positionally vulnerable. Nonetheless, Chelsea should want to keep him.
“In the right time, in the right moment, which isn’t now, going through what we’ve gone through, I’m sure the discussion will happen in terms of what’s been said between me and Enzo,” said Rosenior about Fernandez’s comments and his punishment. “Enzo and I are in a very good place. I saw him today, had a really good conversation with him today one-to-one and things aren’t what people maybe think they are.
“The conversations I have with my individual players, with Enzo, with anyone in the squad when it comes to things like this, stay within. The dressing room is sacred. I made it really clear on Friday what I think of him as a person. He’s a top, top guy. But at the same time, I want us now to focus on the football and achieve what we want to achieve through the season.”
Chelsea find themselves at a delicate point of their season. Out of the Champions League and struggling for consistency to finish in the Premier League’s top five, Rosenior and his players are under pressure. Another busy summer might be on the horizon, one that could include Fernandez’s departure.
Whether or not Chelsea could possibly make a profit on the £106.8m they paid for Fernandez after the 2022 World Cup remains to be seen, but the Argentine clearly has had his head turned. He won’t be the last Chelsea player to wonder if they might achieve more somewhere else.
