chelsea-v-real-sociedad-pre-season-friendly
Enzo Maresca's side have agreed a £125m deal with Chelsea for the midfielder, in a transfer that matches the British record fee that took Alexander Isak to Liverpool in 2025. Chelsea have granted permission for the midfielder to travel to Manchester to undergo a medical and complete the deal.
The West London side had initially imposed an August 14th deadline for a deal to be done, but have now accepted City's record-equalling offer.
Fernandez had informed Chelsea of his desire to leave at the end of last season, after the club missed out on Champions League qualification. He's now set to reunite with former Chelsea coach Maresca at the Etihad with The Athletic reporting an agreement is in place.
Fernandez will become the first footballer in history to have moved twice for fees in excess of £100m, having signed for Chelsea from Benfica for £106.8m in January 2023. He will also become the third footballer to have broken the British transfer record twice in the Premier League era, after Alan Shearer and Rio Ferdinand.
He will complete Manchester City's midfield rebuild this summer, following deals for Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for £116m and Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille for an initial £81m fee.
City had sought midfield signings as a priority this summer after the departures of Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Tijjani Reijnders and Nico Gonzalez.