Manchester City agree fee over £125m for Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez

Manchester City have agreed to pay a joint-British transfer record fee of £125m for Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez.

Fernandez joined Chelsea from Benfica in 2023 for a then-British record fee of £107m, with his latest switch matching the £125m that Liverpool paid for Alexander Isak also on transfer deadline day last summer.

The clubs have been negotiating over the past 24 hours and have now reached an agreement.

Fernandez will now undergo a medical ahead of signing a long-term deal at City. Personal terms will not be an issue.

Argentina international Fernandez worked with City manager Enzo Maresca during the Italian's reign at Chelsea.

Maresca is keen to work with him again after losing a host of midfielders this summer.

Fernandez was not involved in Chelsea's 4-3 Premier League win over Brighton on Sunday or their 2-0 Carabao Cup victory against Luton three days earlier, as reports in Argentina suggested he asked to be left out of the squad.

Chelsea set a deadline of 17:00 BST on 14 August for clubs to make offers of £120m or more, in an attempt to end uncertainty before the start of the 2026-27 season.

It is the second time this summer that City have broken their own transfer record, following the £116m arrival of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest.

Fernandez becomes the fourth player to move to a Premier League club for a fee of at least £100m this summer - following Morgan Rogers (£117m) to Chelsea, Bradley Barcola to Liverpool (£123m) and City's signing of Anderson.

Four midfielders have departed the Etihad Stadium this summer - Tijjani Reijnders joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Qadsiah for £52m, Barcelona signed Rodri for £65m, Nico Gonzalez made a £52m move to Newcastle and Bernardo Silva departed earlier in the summer before joining Real Madrid as a free agent.

City have also sold Savio to Tottenham for £75m, and will receive £60m from the London club next summer when Omar Marmoush's loan move is made permanent.

City have reinforced by signing 18-year-old midfielder Ayoub Bouaddi from Lille for £86m, Brazilian winger Allan Elias for £34m, plus winger Jeremy Monga and goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli for more modest fees.

Their total summer outlay could rise further with Everton winger Iliman Ndiaye set to join after the clubs agreed a deal worth up to £65m.

• Chelsea to register record income for single window

Chelsea had hoped to keep Fernandez earlier this summer but he has been pushing to leave the club since March, and wouldn't change his mind.

Fernandez had been targeting a move to Real Madrid, but the Spanish club ultimately issued a statement to rule out making an offer.

The deal represents the second-biggest sale in Chelsea's history after the one that saw Eden Hazard join Real Madrid in 2019, and means they are set to register a Premier League record for income generated from player sales.

Fernandez's departure, alongside the recent £65m deal that took Nicolas Jackson to Aston Villa and Liam Delap's £50m move to Nottingham Forest, has accelerated a staggering summer of sales now expected to be worth over £400m.

It is a substantial increase on the previous record of around £300m set by Chelsea last season.

Chelsea needed to trim their squad - they are out of European competition this season after finishing 10th and ended last season without a trophy.