Chelsea’s summer has largely been about bringing new faces in, but the more significant story in the closing days of the window may be a departure.
Enzo Fernández has been strongly linked with a move to Manchester City, with reports pointing to former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca driving the interest from the Etihad, and Fernández himself is said to have asked to be left out of Thursday’s Carabao Cup win over Luton Town.
Nothing is confirmed.
Chelsea are understood to value Fernández at around £120m, a fee Manchester City could partly fund through Rodri’s move to Barcelona and Tijjani Reijnders’ advanced talks with Al-Qadsiah, but no official bid had arrived as of the most recent reporting, and Chelsea’s own urgency to sell is said to have cooled after turning down a verbal offer of £103.5m.
Considering the culture and mood Xabi Alonso wants to build at Stamford Bridge, though, it seems pointless to hang on to a player whose head has clearly turned.
If the two clubs do find an agreement, Chelsea’s business hinges on finding a suitable replacement to fill Fernández’s shoes alongside Moisés Caicedo.
In this post we take a look at five players who could replace Enzo Fernández at Chelsea, and what they’d bring to Alonso’s midfield.
What Does Xabi Alonso Want in Enzo Fernández’s Replacement?
Before we get into the names Chelsea have at their disposal, it’s worth understanding what the club is actually looking for in the market.
For starters, the Blues will want a midfielder who can offer something close to the passing range Fernández has provided at times, even if his exact role has shifted over the past two seasons.
That passing ability matters even more under Alonso, who wants a controller in his team, someone comfortable dropping into the back line to receive possession and start attacks from deep.
At Bayer Leverkusen, Granit Xhaka was often given that responsibility. In pre-season, Romeo Lavia was occasionally used in a similar way.
The replacement also needs to be a good dueller who can share the defensive load Caicedo has spent several seasons carrying largely on his own.
Finding that balance, a midfielder who can both progress the ball and win it back, is what will make a candidate on this list an ideal fit for Alonso as Fernández’s long-term replacement.
1. Lamine Camara
Chelsea might need a small favour from a familiar face to sign Lamine Camara.
The 22-year-old Senegal international is under contract at Monaco until 2029, playing under new manager Filipe Luís, the former Blues left-back who only took the Monaco job this summer.
Chelsea shouldn’t expect any discount for old times’ sake.
Monaco signed Camara from Metz for around €15m in 2024, and two years of steady development in Ligue 1 have pushed his market value up to roughly €34m.
He has reportedly piqued Chelsea’s interest while also attracting attention from Manchester United, Liverpool and Crystal Palace, with Monaco believed to want closer to £50m for a player they see as a long-term asset rather than a squad man to cash in on.
Camara has continued to impress this season on the back of a breakout World Cup with Senegal, where his wide passing range, defensive work rate and press resistance caught plenty of eyes.
He’s physically robust for his age and comfortable carrying the ball through midfield thirds, giving him the profile of a player who could grow into exactly the kind of progressive presence Alonso wants alongside Caicedo.
The question marks are about ceiling rather than potential.
Four assists in 18 Ligue 1 appearances this season are solid rather than spectacular numbers, and it remains to be seen whether his game translates cleanly to the pace and physicality of the Premier League.
Signing possibility: Realistic, but competitive. Camara is attainable in a fee range Chelsea can comfortably match, but they’d be one of several major clubs at the table, and Monaco’s reluctance to sell a player they only signed in 2024 means any deal would likely go to the wire.
2. Adam Wharton
Adam Wharton has long been admired by Europe’s elite.
Despite only arriving at Crystal Palace in February 2024 from Championship side Blackburn Rovers, the 22-year-old has already won senior England caps and been linked with Real Madrid, Manchester United and Manchester City.
There’s a reason Wharton is so in demand, and Chelsea could easily join the queue if Fernández is sold.
England rarely produces midfielders this technically composed, the kind more usually associated with Spain or Portugal.
Wharton is elegant on the ball, a genuine deep-lying playmaker capable of dictating tempo and finding progressive passes through pressure.
It took Wharton 79 appearances to score his first Palace goal, but his creativity has still yielded a steady stream of assists across two and a half seasons at Selhurst Park, and he rarely surrenders possession cheaply.
He’s already won an FA Cup, a Conference League and a Community Shield with Palace, silverware that belies his age, and he made his senior England debut with 100% pass accuracy from more than 30 attempts.
He’s exactly the kind of midfielder Chelsea, and plenty of other clubs, desperately want.
Signing possibility: Genuinely tough. Palace have no pressing need to sell a homegrown academy success story mid-project, and Wharton’s stock is only rising the longer he stays fit.
A move would likely need Fernández’s fee to fund a club-record-adjacent bid, and even then Palace could simply say no.
3. Eduardo Camavinga
If Chelsea wanted to make a real statement, Eduardo Camavinga would do it.
The 23-year-old Frenchman is regarded as the engine of Real Madrid’s midfield, a rare talent comfortable as a defensive anchor, a progressive eight, or even filling in at left-back when Carlo Ancelotti’s successors have needed him there.
Camavinga’s versatility is precisely what would appeal to Alonso.
He can share Caicedo’s defensive duties one week and offer the ball-carrying threat Fernández provides the next, all while reading the game with a maturity that belies his age.
He’s tenacious in the tackle, comfortable receiving under pressure in tight spaces, and rarely caught on the wrong side of the ball.
The obstacles here are significant, though. Camavinga signed a contract extension at the Bernabéu running to 2029 and reportedly earns in the region of €240,000 a week, wages that would represent a serious outlay even before a transfer fee, which would likely start well north of Fernández’s own valuation.
Real Madrid have shown no inclination to sell a player they view as central to their long-term midfield plans.
Signing possibility: A dream-ticket name more than a realistic one.
Real Madrid aren’t selling, the wages alone would strain Chelsea’s structure, and there’s no obvious trigger, like the one driving Fernández toward the exit, pushing Camavinga to leave the Bernabéu.
Worth dreaming about, hard to see happening.
4. Martín Zubimendi
Martín Zubimendi has emerged as one of the more intriguing names should Chelsea go shopping for a Fernández replacement, and the interest seemingly stems from Alonso himself.
The pair worked closely together when Alonso managed Real Sociedad’s B team at the start of his coaching career, with Zubimendi coming through the same Zubieta academy.
The bond has endured, the two are said to still correspond regularly, and Zubimendi has previously named Alonso his footballing idol.
There are, however, some fairly obvious issues with Chelsea actually signing the 27-year-old.
Arsenal are not looking to sell a midfielder they only signed for a reported £55.8m in the summer of 2025 and who started 34 of their 38 Premier League matches last season. Zubimendi was central to their title-winning campaign, even if his influence waned a little as the season wore on.
He’s also a different type of player to Fernández. Zubimendi is a defensive-minded midfielder with limited goal threat and a preference for safety-first football, more Caicedo’s midfield partner in profile than his own eventual heir.
Chelsea arguably need a more progressive, creative option to sit alongside their current destroyer, rather than a second version of him.
Signing possibility: Very unlikely, at least this side of a genuine Arsenal implosion. Selling a title-winning midfielder to a direct Premier League rival barely a year after signing him isn’t something Arsenal have any reason to entertain, however strong the Alonso connection.
5. Alex Scott
Chelsea’s interest in Alex Scott has been well documented. A bid worth £64m was rejected earlier this summer, with Bournemouth adamant they want to keep hold of him, and prising him away in the closing days of the window would be a very tough deal to pull off.
Asked directly this week whether Scott would remain a Bournemouth player, manager Marco Rose was emphatic that he would.
❓@BenJacobs on CFC interest in Alex Scott: My sense is that 80 million might not even be good enough to start a conversation now with Bournemouth. Player would be open to Chelsea, Bournemouth are adamant that they want to shut the window & still try and get Scott to sign a new… pic.twitter.com/vM4Qa4ZHi4
— London Is Blue Podcast ⭐️⭐️ (@LondonBluePod) August 27, 2026
The sale of Fernández would change that calculation.
It would let Chelsea raise their offer significantly and properly test Bournemouth’s resolve, and with Scott himself yet to sign a new contract at the Vitality Stadium, the Cherries remain in an awkward position of their own.
An injury-free campaign has let the 23-year-old showcase his burgeoning potential, with Andoni Iraola, now at Liverpool, having nurtured him through an outstanding 2025/26 season.
Scott was the heartbeat of Bournemouth’s midfield as they qualified for the Europa League, an all-rounder with so many strands to his game: fierce out of possession, classy in it, and capable of arriving late into the penalty area.
He could be a genuinely excellent successor to Fernández, and unlike most names on this list, Chelsea have already shown their hand.
Signing possibility: The most unrealistic of the five. Chelsea have already bid once, the funds from a Fernández sale would let them come back stronger, and Scott’s own contract standoff gives Bournemouth a reason to eventually cash in rather than risk losing him for less down the line.
Honourable Mention
Warren Zaïre-Emery deserves a mention even if a move is firmly in fantasy territory.
The 20-year-old is already a Champions League and multiple Ligue 1 winner with Paris Saint-Germain, comfortable across midfield and trusted by Luis Enrique in the biggest games.
PSG have no reason to sell one of their most gifted academy graduates, and a fee befitting his €70m-plus valuation would likely be prohibitive, but few midfielders his age offer a higher ceiling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Enzo Fernández leaving Chelsea for Manchester City?
Nothing is confirmed. Chelsea are understood to value Fernández at around £120m and Manchester City could partly fund a deal through their own outgoing sales, but no official bid had arrived as of the most recent reporting and Chelsea’s urgency to sell is said to have cooled.
Who is the most likely player to replace Enzo Fernández at Chelsea?
Lamine Camara is the most realistic of the five names covered here. Chelsea are reportedly getting closer to agreeing a deal and it could all come together once the Enzo deal is complete.
How much is Enzo Fernández worth to Chelsea?
Chelsea’s valuation sits at around £120m, though the club rejected a verbal offer of £103.5m and have since taken a previously discussed exit-clause arrangement off the table entirely.
Could Chelsea realistically sign Eduardo Camavinga or Martín Zubimendi?
Both are considered long shots. Real Madrid have no intention of selling Camavinga, who is contracted until 2029, while Arsenal are extremely unlikely to sell Zubimendi to a direct Premier League rival barely a year after signing him for £55.8m.
