Alonso drops Fernandez bombshell after holding talks with Chelsea star

Xabi Alonso has suggested that Enzo Fernandez doesn't have the 'desire to play' for Chelsea as his move to Manchester City edges closer. Mirror Football reported on Tuesday that Fernandez, 25, was the subject of a £100million bid from City, who finally made their first offer after weeks of speculation.

But Chelsea want £120m for the midfielder, who's keen to reunite with former Blues manager Enzo Maresca at the Etihad. Fernandez came on as a second-half substitute during Monday's 3-2 win away to Fulham, but he was left out of the squad altogether when Chelsea beat Luton 2-0 in the Carabao Cup at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.

Alonso confirmed post-match that it was his call to omit Fernandez before shedding light on the decision. "We need the players that are in the best situation to play," the Chelsea boss affirmed.

"We need to take everything into consideration - players that are in a good moment, players that are not feeling that energy to play. For me, it is very important they feel this desire to play and to have good preparation."

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Alonso, who labelled Fernandez a 'top player', went on to reveal: "We talked and we decided for tonight it was better not to be part of the squad."

As far as other business is concerned, Alonso said that Chelsea are 'quite close' to reaching the amount of players that he wants in his squad. Nicolas Jackson is poised to complete a move to Aston Villa in a deal worth up to £65m, while Bournemouth star Alex Scott is Alonso's ideal replacement for Fernandez.

"We are quite close to the plan we had," the Spaniard added. "We will see where we finish, if it's fully executed or there are things still to be done or things we couldn't do. But for sure I think overall the balance of what we have is going to be good.

"We have to see how the last few days develop. But so far the team is coming together. It is a process that will take time. We are in a good position, with a few more days to see."

Should Chelsea sell Enzo Fernandez? Have your say in the comments section.

One of Chelsea's summer signings, Danny Welbeck, opened his account against Luton. His goal helped the Blues book a third-round tie at home to Leeds.

"He has many qualities," Alonso said of Welbeck. "As a player you see how intelligent he is. He links well. Out of the box he is able to combine. In the box he is very intelligent to be in the right place - we saw that tonight.

"On a daily basis, he is a great influence for the rest of the players. He trains really hard. He is raising all the standards in training and that is something we think is very important."

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