Manchester City continue to strengthen their midfield after the Ayoub Bouaddi deal

Chelsea’s Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernández has moved closer to a record-breaking transfer to Manchester City, according to Eduardo Burgos, a journalist at Spain’s “AS” on Thursday evening.

According to Burgos, the switch is now a matter of hours away after the English club agreed personal terms with the player.

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Work is under way to finalise a deal worth a record sum, the same source added. Meanwhile, the London club agreed with manager Xabi Alonso to leave Fernández out of the squad for the trip to Luton, a 2-0 Chelsea win on Thursday in the English Football League Cup.

Fernández nears the exit door after three and a half seasons at Chelsea, who signed him from Portugal’s Benfica in January 2023 on the back of his outstanding displays with Argentina and his crowning as a 2022 World Cup winner in Qatar.

Chelsea had earlier priced the Argentina international at 120 million pounds sterling. That figure was the main obstacle facing Manchester City in the negotiations.

Talk of Fernández’s future has swirled since late last season, when he hinted at a desire to join Real Madrid. The Spanish giants instead turned to Portugal international Bernardo Silva from Manchester City.

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