ENZ OF THE ROAD? Alonso speaks after axing Fernandez again amid Man City speculation before hinting at imminent Chelsea exit

Xabi Alonso has said that keeping Enzo Fernandez out of the Chelsea team is ‘for the best’, while suggesting Robert Sanchez could be shown the exit door. The Argentine midfielder has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge over recent days.

Manchester City have emerged as suitors and Enzo Maresca’s side are expected to lodge a big-money bid soon despite having already signed Elliot Anderson and Ayoubb Bouaddi to bolster their midfield.

In the meantime, Fernandez has been exiled from first-team action. He was left out of the side that took on Luton Town in the second round of the Carabao Cup in midweek, while he was also sidelined for the clash with Brighton at Stamford Bridge.

Asked why he was left out once again, Chelsea boss Alonso said: "We assess what's best for the team. We need the team to be focused."

Meanwhile, another absentee was goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, the Spaniard having lost his starting berth to summer arrival Emi Martinez. And asked about the stopper, the Chelsea boss was somewhat cryptic. He said: "We will see. Sometimes you have to take tough decisions."

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Alonso’s comments on Fernandez come after he made a similar claim in the week. Asked about Fernandez’s situation, the Spanish coach said: “I have said we need the players that are in the best situation to play.

“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 that they feel this desire to play and to have good preparation.”

Asked if Fernandez had lost the desire to play, Alonso replied: “We talked, and we decided for [Luton] it was better not to be part of the squad. He is a top player.”

Fernandez, 25, signed for Chelsea from Benfica in 2023 and he has gone on to make 170 appearances for the club and scored 31 goals. He still has six years left to run on his deal in West London.

It has previously been suggested that Chelsea will only sell for around £120m. Should Fernandez move to the Etihad, he would become the latest high-profile midfield addition of the summer after Anderson and Bouaddi.

City’s spending is also not expected to stop there either. They are also in pole position to seal a deal for Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo, with the two clubs now in talks to find an agreement.

Asked this week if more additions could be on the way, City boss Maresca said: “We have experienced players, for sure we have leaders. Now we need to wait 4-5 days for when the transfer window closes also to see if we can add one or two more captains to Ruben [Dias] and Erling [Haaland], at the moment they are the two captains. It’s a young squad and also we have some experienced players.”

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