Chelsea transfer news: The Enzo Fernandez, Andrey Santos conundrum that BlueCo cannot afford to get wrong

La Liga clubs are no strangers to playing mind games. Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have shown that across the recent Julian Alvarez saga.

However, it was the turn of Real Madrid on Friday morning, Los Blancos feeling that it was apt to release an official 182-word statement to deny their interest in Enzo Fernandez.

Once that statement was published, it effectively rendered Chelsea's £120m valuation of the World Cup winner meaningless. Why? Because Real Madrid is his preferred destination and they are the only club who can theoretically afford to get a deal over the line for the unhappy Argentine this summer.

When Chelsea need to facilitate sales to comply with the relevant financial regulations, it leaves them in somewhat of a predicament, with a report on Friday suggesting that Andrey Santos could be a player who is sacrificed by BlueCo when they can make a substantial profit.

Here, Sports Mole highlights why Chelsea chiefs should show preference to selling Fernandez for a reduced fee over cashing in on the Brazil international.

The stats that show the value of Andrey Santos to Chelsea

When 21 of his 47 appearances for Chelsea have come from the substitutes' bench, it is easy to come to the conclusion that the 22-year-old is not an indispensable member of the squad.

At the same time, there is evidence to suggest that Santos being misused by Enzo Maresca, Liam Rosenior and Calum McFarlane contributed to their downfall in 2025-26.

Of Chelsea's seven Premier League away wins last season, Santos started the victories at Nottingham Forest, Burnley, Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

He also played the opening 63 minutes of the 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield, while he was arguably man-of-the-match for his second-half showing in the 1-1 draw at Manchester City just days after Maresca's departure.

Three days later, he was wrongly sacrificed when Chelsea went down to 10 men versus Fulham before losing 2-1, while his first-half introduction at Manchester United - with Chelsea down to 10 men - kept them competitive against the Red Devils before succumbing 2-1 at Old Trafford.

There is also a glaring example in a Stamford Bridge fixture. Chelsea were 1-0 up versus Brighton & Hove Albion when Trevoh Chalobah was sent off. Santos was immediately withdrawn before the Seagulls prevailed by a 3-1 scoreline.

Games such as the one against Brazilian giants Palmeiras in the Club World Cup get forgotten about, too. Santos took on Moises Caicedo's more defensive-role in that fixture across 90 and impressed with the greater responsibility.

The perception is that Santos is Chelsea's odd man out, the player that has to take a backseat to Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez due to the pair's respective price-tags.

In reality, the former Vasco Da Gama starlet should be viewed as the effective go-between between defence and attack, those qualities proven in a masterclass of a performance against Man City in January.

In Chelsea colours, Fernandez has been far superior to Santos in terms of goals and assists, but that is not to say that Santos cannot reach that level. He is just being prevented from doing so by Fernandez's presence.

Chelsea need Santos steel over Fernandez flair

Fernandez has 16 goals and 11 assists from his last 72 Premier League appearances. Santos has 15 goals and 10 assists from 92 outings for Chelsea and Strasbourg.

When you factor in that Fernandez has only played 381 fewer minutes than Santos, two of Fernandez's goals have come from penalties and that he also takes set-pieces, their numbers are not too dissimilar.

Santos' profile is also far more suitable to Alonso's 3-4-2-1 formation than Fernandez's, something which becomes clear when you consider that Chelsea did not win a Premier League fixture with Caicedo and Fernandez as a midfield six and eight from the middle of January onwards. Despite costing over £220m between them, the pair being viewed as bullet-proof in the starting lineup costs Chelsea more than it benefits them.

Despite Fernandez being valued at £120m, Chelsea would avoid a loss on their accounts if they sell for between £75m and £80m. BlueCo would more than double their money on Santos if they sold him, but they would watch him flourish in a team that uses him correctly.

If Trevoh Chalobah is being sold for pure profit and Chelsea can cash in on the likes of Malo Gusto and Liam Delap, it reduces the need of taking such a strong stance on Fernandez.

That in turn should, theoretically, stop Chelsea from making an avoidable mistake on Santos, arguably the solitary example that BlueCo can call upon when it comes to justifying their condemned transfer strategy.