Former Manchester United midfielder, Paul Scholes has said that Chelsea have jeopardised their chances of challenging for the Premier League title this season by agreeing to sell Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City.
On transfer deadline day, Manchester City completed the £125 million signing of Fernandez, making him one of the joint-most expensive players in Premier League history.
Since his £107 million transfer from Benfica in 2023, Fernandez has emerged as one of the key players at Stamford Bridge, although he expressed a desire to leave earlier this summer.
Despite missing Chelsea’s deadline to sign Fernandez for £120 million last month, Manchester City persisted with negotiations with the Blues and ultimately reached an agreement just hours before the transfer window closed.
During the World Cup, Fernandez was eager to secure a coveted move to Real Madrid but also consented to a transfer to Manchester City, where he will be managed by former Chelsea coach, Enzo Maresca.
Scholes admitted that he “wasn’t a massive fan” of Fernandez upon his arrival in England but now considers him a “brilliant player” and a significant loss for Chelsea.
Maresca’s team has been widely regarded as potential dark horses for the Premier League title this season. However, Scholes does not believe Chelsea can compete with the defending champions, Arsenal, whom they are set to face this weekend, without Fernandez.
He told The Good, The Bad & The Footballpodcast: “I don’t think he was unhappy at Chelsea, but he had his head turned by Manchester City.
“But if Chelsea want to win the Premier League, which, look, I don’t think they can anyway, they shouldn’t have let Enzo Fernandez go.
“Recently, they had Malo Gusto in midfield, which is insufficient. Reece James has also been deployed in midfield, and that is not good enough.
“City have already had Chelsea’s pants down with the manager [Enzo Maresca]. They obviously unsettled him and were talking to him about coming in the summer.
“That ruined Chelsea’s season, really, because they were flying at the time; they were going really well. Enzo Fernandez’s move to Manchester City could potentially ruin Chelsea’s season again.”
EPL: Paul Scholes names club that’ll no longer win title this season