{"id":595387,"date":"2026-08-16T22:04:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T22:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/595387\/"},"modified":"2026-08-16T22:04:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T22:04:10","slug":"rodri-transfer-news-spain-captain-agrees-deal-to-join-barcelona-from-man-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/595387\/","title":{"rendered":"Rodri transfer news: Spain captain agrees deal to join Barcelona from Man City"},"content":{"rendered":"

Manchester City<\/a>‘s interest in Chelsea<\/a>‘s Enzo Fernandez has been no secret, despite not submitting a bid for the Argentine before the Blues’ Friday deadline.<\/p>\n

Chelsea<\/a> told interested parties they had until 17:00 BST on Friday to make an offer for the 25-year-old – with them wanting \u00a3120m for his signature.<\/p>\n

But they are not thought to have received any bids and Xabi Alonso’s side now hope to keep their vice-captain.<\/p>\n

However, it is understood City do not see the potential transfer as being over and still think Chelsea<\/a> want to do a deal.<\/p>\n

Manchester City<\/a> boss Maresca is clearly a fan of Fernandez, having made him Chelsea<\/a> captain when Reece James was injured, and he played him in 79 of his 92 games in charge at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n

Fernandez is, by nature, a defensive midfielder but Maresca played him further forward many times last season when Cole Palmer was injured, leading to him scoring a career-best 15 goals.<\/p>\n

That means there are several places Fernandez could fit into Maresca’s City team – if a deal does happen.<\/p>\n

The Abu Dhabi-owned club also signed England midfielder Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest<\/a> this summer.<\/p>\n

So that would give Maresca some flexibility when naming a team – and means Anderson and Fernandez would be capable of playing together.<\/p>\n

Whether a deal can be agreed or if Chelsea<\/a> will stick to their guns remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

Another potential midfield signing is Bournemouth<\/a>‘s Alex Scott.<\/p>\n

City have explored a potential move for England international Scott this summer.<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old has rejected contract offers from the Cherries amid interest from other Premier League clubs, though his current deal does not expire until 2028 and Bournemouth<\/a> have expressed their desire to keep him.<\/p>\n

Bournemouth<\/a> rejected a \u00a364m bid from Chelsea<\/a> for the midfielder last month and made it clear any further approaches would not be welcomed. Advances from Arsenal<\/a> have also been knocked back.<\/p>\n

Scott’s energy and ball-carrying ability suit Maresca’s preferred style of play – with a heavy emphasis on possession – while his passes into the box and ability to win duels make him an appealing option.<\/p>\n

Liverpool<\/a>‘s Alexis Mac Allister also interests Maresca.<\/p>\n

The Argentine is into the final two years of his contract at Anfield and has been a consistent presence in the Reds’ midfield during his time there, though he struggled for form during a troublesome 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n

As a Premier League winner, Mac Allister would bring top-flight experience and be a ready-made candidate to slot into City’s midfield.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manchester City‘s interest in Chelsea‘s Enzo Fernandez has been no secret, despite not submitting a bid for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":595388,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[61,60,112],"class_list":["post-595387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=595387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/595388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=595387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=595387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=595387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}