Liam Rosenior has dealt a blow to Paris Saint-Germain’s and Real Madrid’s hopes of signing Enzo Fernández by insisting the midfielder’s long-term future lies at Chelsea.
There has been plenty of noise around Fernández over the past week, with reports in France claiming PSG are targeting him as part of their plans to rebuild their midfield this summer. Madrid are also being talked up as a potential destination for the Argentina international, particularly as they are short of a player capable of dictating play, but Rosenior has no doubts about the 25-year-old’s commitment to Chelsea.
The head coach pointed out that Fernández played through illness when Chelsea beat Brentford last Saturday and made clear he was unmoved by transfer gossip before Wednesday night’s Champions League tie at home to Pafos.
“It means nothing to me,” Rosenior said. “When you’re a world-class player, an outstanding player, there’s always going to be speculation that you can’t control. He’s been outstanding in the time I’ve worked with him.
“He’s even surprised me in a good way in terms of what he did on Saturday – to be ill and cover the ground that he did, the way that he’s trained and the way that he’s performed. He’s a Chelsea player. He’s very important to me. And I think we’re going to have a really, really good, hopefully winning relationship moving forward in the short term and the long term.”
Chelsea have no intention of selling Fernández, whose contract runs until 2032. He was a key player under Enzo Maresca, who left as head coach this month, and has impressed in Rosenior’s first three games.
“Technically, he’s outstanding,” Rosenior said. “He covers a lot of ground. He can score goals. He arrives really well in the box when he plays higher up. A player of his level can do many different things. Enzo can play deeper as a 6, which he did really well against Arsenal [in the Carabao Cup last week].”
Fernández was well enough to train on Tuesday but remains a doubt to face Pafos, who have the former Chelsea defender David Luiz in their ranks. Rosenior must decide whether to rotate and potentially compromise his team’s hopes of reaching the last 16. The world champions are 13th in the league phase before their penultimate game and will face a two-leg playoff if they finish outside the top eight, but they have a gruelling schedule and have struggled with injuries this season. Tosin Adarabioyo is the latest casualty, out for a few weeks with a hamstring injury.
The absence of the centre-back comes with Chelsea also trying to deal with a sickness bug sweeping through their camp since last week. “There’s a few coughs,” Rosenior said. “It’s about making sure the players are right for tomorrow.”
Estêvão Willian, Malo Gusto and Jamie Gittens have returned to training, and there was surprise at Axel Disasi joining the group for Tuesday’s session. Disasi has trained away from the first team this season, is ineligible for the Champions League and is likely to leave this month, but the defender is registered for the Premier League and has a chance of forcing his way into Rosenior’s plans. “My decision on Axel,” he said. “I had a really good meeting with him a couple of days ago. It’s a clean slate for everybody.”
Raheem Sterling, another member of the so-called bomb squad, remains out in the cold. Rosenior, who refused to discuss Chelsea’s interest in the Rennes defender Jérémy Jacquet, has a lot on his plate. Chelsea are outsiders in the Champions League but have history on their side. They have been European champions only after mid-season managerial changes: first when Roberto Di Matteo replaced André Villas-Boas in 2012, then when Frank Lampard made way for Thomas Tuchel in 2021.
“Hopefully third time lucky,” Rosenior said. “I never limit the ambitions of my group.”
