The out-of-sorts midfielder has been dropped from the Blues' starting line-up and faces a significant battle to regain his place
When Chelsea take to the field against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, Enzo Fernandez will almost certainly not be in the starting line-up. The strange thing is, that won't really come as a surprise.
A blockbuster £107 million ($132m at the time) signing from Benfica in January 2023, the midfielder is no longer a guaranteed starter under Enzo Maresca despite being made vice-captain in the summer, as the team seemingly evolves and progresses without him.
Consistently inconsistent, the Argentine finds himself in a funk and risks being left behind if he cannot find his place in the Italian's plans by rediscovering some his best form and, crucially, maintaining it.
InstagramWorst possible start
Of course, Fernandez was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons before a ball had been kicked this season; amid Argentina's wild Copa America victory celebrations in July, Enzo was the man holding the camera and bizarrely live-streaming as he and his compatriots belted out a racist and transphobic chant at the expense of France's national team.
The song included the words "they play in France, but they are all from Angola" and "their mum is Nigerian, their dad is Cameroonian, but on the passport it says: French".
A deserved backlash arrived quickly, as a number of his Chelsea colleagues – many of whom are of Afro-French descent – turned on Fernandez and unfollowed him on Instagram. Centre-back Wesley Fofana labelled the incident "unabashed racism".
Fernandez inevitably apologised, claiming he "stands against discrimination in all forms" and apologised for "getting caught up in the euphoria". "That video, that moment, those words, do not reflect my character or beliefs. I am truly sorry," he wrote.
However, his actions still resulted in disciplinary action from Chelsea and a FIFA investigation. Although there were reports of a rift, his club-mates, including Fofana, eventually forgave him – but it would be remiss to say the debacle hasn't had some effect on him this season.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesMidfield misfit
On the pitch, Fernandez's performances this season haven't all been bad, but he certainly hasn't shown the level of consistency many would expect of a £107m player. Indeed, ahead of the trip to Man Utd he has lost his place in Maresca's so-called 'A team'.
Fernandez had been a starter in the early part of the season, aided by Romeo Lavia's five-week absence as a result of a hamstring injury suffered after an impressive showing on the opening day of the Premier League season against Manchester City. However, now Lavia is back to full fitness, Fernandez has been dropped.
The Belgian started the previous two league games against Liverpool and Newcastle, with Maresca tweaking his tactics in favour of more defensive solidity and in-form Moises Caicedo playing the role of the shuttling midfielder in the manager's preferred 4-3-3 shape, while Cole Palmer has, of course, been starring as a No.10. At present, it's hard to see how Fernandez fits.
He certainly hasn't been the creative force Chelsea would have hoped in 2024-25, and arguably since he signed; a deep-lying playmaker, Fernandez is yet to register a league goal or assist this campaign, and his pass completion percentage in the league is concerningly low at 80.7. Meanwhile, there are question marks over whether he has the stamina and physicality to be effective as a defensive midfielder.
The vast majority of Blues followers have backed Fernandez to the hilt in the belief that he will come good and become one of the best midfielders on the planet, with a damning recent statistical comparison of Chelsea's win rate with and without him (35% with, 81% without) swiftly rubbished. Patience, though, may soon run thin.
Getty Images Sport'It's a matter of balance'
For his part, Maresca insists that he maintains faith in the midfielder and that his decision-making has been purely tactical. "I still trust Enzo," the head coach said in his press conference before the trip to Old Trafford.
"There is not any reason in the world I can lose confidence in him. The reason why he is not playing in the Premier League is because at this moment I take a different decision. My confidence is 100% with Enzo.
"In this moment, I know you are looking for some different reasons for Enzo [not starting], but it’s very simple. He’s not playing in this moment, we have so many games, he’s going to play for sure in the future. And it doesn’t mean Romeo and Moi are always going to play. At the moment one of them drops [their levels], probably we will change it."
He added: "It’s a matter of balance. Romeo and Moi give us physicality and strength in the middle. This is why we found the option of Malo [Gusto] in the pocket. Otherwise, when we play with Enzo it has to be with one of Moi or Romeo, and Enzo moves forward we struggle in the middle for physicality."
Getty Images SportWeight of expectation
Maresca has previously stated that he believes Fernandez and, previously, Caicedo have both been suffering under the weight of the eye-watering £100m+ transfer fees Chelsea paid for their respective services in 2023, as the former arrived from Benfica in January and the latter was signed from Brighton in the summer.
The head coach has openly admitted he feels the club made a mistake by paying that much and putting that expectation on the pair's shoulders.
"The price does not have to be a problem for them, it’s something that the players can do nothing about," the Italian said recently. "Sometimes players feel under pressure because the club pay too much, but this is a big problem and is a weight on the shoulders which does not help the players."
There is certainly some truth in that. Fernandez has always been fighting a losing battle in trying to live up to that price tag, and it's more likely than not that he never will with few players truly worth that astronomical sum. All Chelsea can hope for in the short-term is some consistency, with the 23-year-old more than capable of turning things around.