Jose Mourinho is expected to become the next manager of Real Madrid. While nothing has been made official, it is considered only a matter of time. If or when it does happen, it would represent a return to the top of the game for the Portuguese head coach, who had fading away from that level lately. Since leaving Chelsea, he had managed Manchester United, then Tottenham Hotspur, followed by spells at AS Roma, Fenerbahce and Benfica.
Thus, most never expected Mourinho to be back at the top again. Yet, it appears that Florentino Perez is keen on repeating the success story of Carlo Ancelotti’s second stint with the club.
Real Madrid’s decision to sack Xabi Alonso in the middle of his debut campaign has allowed Chelsea to appoint the Spaniard. On the other hand, it looks like Mourinho would be keen on taking one of the Blues’ best to Stamford Bridge.
According to TEAMtalk, Mourinho is understood to be an admirer of Enzo Fernandez. He has made it clear that he would welcome the opportunity to build his midfield around the Argentine World Cup winner.
Mourinho wants Fernandez at Real Madrid
Of course, all of this could rely on Florentino Perez continuing on as the Real Madrid president. That is the likely outcome though.
Should that happen, it is possible that Real Madrid could try to sign Fernandez again. And while Los Blancos don’t often shell out big transfer fees these days, they can from time to time, like they did when signing Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund.
So, it will be very interesting to see if they make a significant bid for Fernandez this summer as well. It is believed that Chelsea would like to recoup the £106 million fee they paid to sign him, but it could realistically come down to £85 million.
Chelsea would prefer Fernandez joining Real Madrid over Man City
Fernandez has been an integral part of Chelsea’s first-team picture since joining in early 2023, fresh after his World Cup triumph. So, seeing him depart would be a blow for the Blues.
That being said, Fernandez joining Real Madrid would be better for the club than seeing him move to a direct rival like Manchester City, who are about to bring in Enzo Maresca as their new manager to replace Pep Guardiola.
We have already seen the combination of the two Enzos work out brilliantly at Chelsea. So, it would not be ideal to willingly hand that to Manchester City. That should be the last resort, if other option is exhausted.
Sourav Mahanty
Sourav Mahanty has covered teams like Chelsea, Celtic, Real Madrid, Manchester United, PSG and more over a career that has now lasted a decade. His work has been featured on Sports Illustrated, Athlon Sports, SB Nation, FanSided, The Sportster and aggregated through Bleacher Report and NewsNow. Outside of football, he is also interested in basketball, cricket and professional wrestling.
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