Chelsea transfer news: Three reasons why Enzo Fernandez should be sold by BlueCo this summer

While Chelsea's failure to qualify for European football in 2026-27 may have added frustration among the club's fanbase, it has provided Xabi Alonso with more of a clean slate to try to transform the Blues' fortunes.

However, the Spaniard faces a sizeable task when it comes to trying to keep the club's highest-profile players at Stamford Bridge and ensuring that they remain committed in the process.

There is an argument that Enzo Fernandez could emerge as a key figure in the Alonso rebuild, yet the Argentina international is currently dividing opinion, despite the numbers that he has racked up throughout his stay in West London.

Here, Sports Mole suggests three reasons why Chelsea should do everything possible to sell the World Cup winner this summer.

No point Alonso keeping a player lacking total commitment

Since Fernandez served a club-imposed two-match ban for heavily suggesting that he would like to sign for Real Madrid, he has contributed three goals and one assist from his eight starts.

The performances against Leeds United in the FA Cup semi-finals and a derby success over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League were pivotal ones, yet it could be perceived that Fernandez was saying goodbye to the fans when waving to the travelling support at Sunderland on Sunday.

Fernandez may remain in the dark over what may transpire during the summer transfer window and could have plausibly wanted to show respect. Nevertheless, the fact that he would even contemplate leaving Chelsea at this stage of his career suggests that his head has already been turned.

At a time when Manchester City, likely to be managed by Enzo Maresca, are also lurking in the background, reports persist that Fernandez and Chelsea's hierarchy remain some way apart in contract negotiations.

There does not need to be any rush - Fernandez still has six years left on his current terms - but it is becoming clear that Chelsea cannot meet his demands or the player is purposely pricing himself out of a renewal.

When Alonso is spearheading such an important rebuild, he cannot afford to have players in his ranks who are less than 100% committed, and Fernandez certainly fits into that category right now.

Fernandez struggles in two-man midfield with Caicedo

For all of Fernandez's undoubted qualities, he regularly looks a shadow of his normal self when deployed alongside Moises Caicedo in a two-player midfield.

The latest example came in Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Sunderland in a game where Chelsea were, not for the first time this season, over-ran in the engine room and lacked the necessary physicality.

Bluntly put, it was a stupid decision from interim head coach Calum McFarlane when Fernandez had been so effective against Spurs five days earlier, but it emphasised that Fernandez does not produce his best displays unless he lines up in a three-man midfield with Reece James or Andrey Santos in the side.

If Fernandez is to be influential in a 3-4-2-1 formation, he needs to be used as one of the number 10s. If he is to impress in a 4-2-3-1 formation, he needs to be the number 10. Regardless of the threat that Fernandez would offer, he would negatively impact on Chelsea's speed, sharpness and creativity in the final third under Alonso.

The last time that Chelsea won a Premier League fixture with Fernandez in a two-man partnership with Caicedo was January's 2-0 win over Brentford. However, Brentford were, by far, the better team on that occasion. Prior to that, it was a 2-0 win over Everton, but alongside James.

Unless Alonso has plans to regularly use a 4-3-3 formation with Caicedo, Fernandez and one of James or Santos, Fernandez should not be viewed as a guaranteed starter in the rebuild. Therefore, it adds value to the possibility of a sale.

Perfect time for Chelsea to maximise Fernandez value

Talking of value, Chelsea will not have a better time to maximise the transfer fee that they can generate from Fernandez's sale.

When you sign a player in a £106.8m deal on an eight-and-a-half-year contract, it is a complex process, and BlueCo have shown signs of being far too stubborn over their transfer business in the past.

Whether it is this summer or in the future, Chelsea are never going to recoup what they paid for Fernandez. As per Transfermarkt, only eight deals in the history of football have been more expensive than the one that took Fernandez from Benfica to England's capital.

Chelsea, understandably, do not want to make a loss on their accounts. With regards to amortisation, they would need to recoup in the region of £75m for that to be achieved. Naturally, BlueCo will want more for a 25-year-old World Cup winner with 31 goals and 30 assists from 169 appearances who is the club's vice-captain.

Nevertheless, when Real Madrid are known to want central midfielders this summer and former Chelsea boss Maresca will be targeting reinforcements to the Manchester City engine room, BlueCo and Alonso have to realise that now is the perfect time to cash in on Fernandez and replace him with a more physically-imposing central midfielder or a world-class winger that would allow Cole Palmer to return to a creative role in the middle.

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