Enzo Fernandez has found himself fighting for a starting role in Chelsea’s Premier League side following the return of Romeo Lavia from injury.
Fernandez joined Chelsea for a then club-record fee of £106.8m from Benfica in January 2023 as the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership pulled out of the stops to secure a last-gasp Deadline Day deal.
Since then, Fernandez has been a regular starter for Chelsea in the midfield alongside Moises Caicedo, the club’s now most expensive player.
With the 20-year-old arriving at Chelsea shortly after winning the World Cup with Argentina in 2022, Fernandez’s stock was high and the Blues paid the price, increasing the pressure on Fernandez to ensure his performances were in line with his price tag.
Arguably, former Chelsea head coach Graham Potter is the only boss to have got the best out of the Argentine, with Enzo Maresca the next in line to find the perfect formula.
Chelsea’s midfield options are stacked. Competition for places has increased following the arrival of Lavia from Southampton last summer, as well as Cesare Casadei and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall also competing for places. Carney Chukwuemeka is also in the frame, however has been an outcast so far this term.
As a result of Lavia’s early season form, Fernandez has dropped down into the cup side, being preferred to start the Conference League and Carabao Cup matches rather than the Premier League, which has seen Caicedo and Lavia the selected pairing.
It’s now up to Fernandez to showcase his quality to Maresca to try to win his league spot back and the last three matches for club and country has certainly done him no harm whatsoever.
Against FC Noah in the Conference League, Fernandez bagged three assists in the first 21 minutes of the European fixture as Chelsea thrashed the Armenian side 8-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Fernandez came off the bench against Arsenal with Chelsea looking to find an equaliser in the second half. He made an instant impact by teeing up Pedro Neto, who fired a shot into the bottom corner past David Raya to secure a 1-1 draw.
Four assists in two games. But Fernandez wasn’t stopping there. He’s currently away with Argentina on international duty and despite losing the game 2-1 to Paraguay, he claimed another assist with a fine ball to find Lautaro Martinez.
Maresca will welcome Fernandez back late next week due to Argentina’s fixture against Peru in midweek, so it is likely the World Cup winner will begin on the bench against Leicester City should Lavia and Caicedo both be fit to start.
But as the Chelsea head coach has stated many times, any player in the squad can start in the league or cup, and if Fernandez can continue his run of goal contributions, Maresca will be faced with a positive selectio
