𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

No one has made more Premier League appearances under Enzo Maresca than the manager’s namesake in midfield, Enzo Fernandez.

Across two seasons and 54 games, the Argentine racked up over 4,500 league minutes for Chelsea with Maresca in the dugout, during which time only Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah created more chances from open play.

The Italian has since taken up the job of succeeding Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, and according to The Athletic’s reporting, is keen on a reunion with one of his most trusted Chelsea players.

With Spain’s 2026 World Cup-winning captain Rodri potentially leaving City, the club have already dug deep to bring in Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for £116million ($153m).

Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, 18, is also heavily linked with them, while the likes of Nico Gonzalez, Tijjani Reijnders and Mateo Kovacic remain at the club.

Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki are midfielders but take up more advanced, creative roles, while Rico Lewis and Nico O’Reilly are nominally full-backs, but can also tuck inside to provide even more cover in the centre of the pitch.

Even with expected and potential departures over the next couple of weeks before the September 1 deadline, City would seem to be well-stocked.

But Maresca’s interest in teaming up again with Fernandez persists, for a quoted valuation of at least £120million ($162m). The Athletic has examined exactly what he sees in the 25-year-old Argentina international here.