Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior stresses Enzo Fernandez’s importance amid speculation

By Robert O'Connor, Press Association

Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior has pinned his team’s hopes for success on Enzo Fernandez following speculation he is wanted by Real Madrid.

The World Cup-winner moved to Stamford Bridge from Benfica in February 2023 for a then-British record fee and after a slow beginning to life in west London has established himself as key in the plans of successive Blues bosses.

His capture was key to the recruitment policy of owners BlueCo, who moved quickly to set up a deal in the weeks after Fernandez had played a breakout role in helping Argentina to become world champions in Qatar.

Of the rumours that another club could swoop for the 25-year-old, Rosenior said: “It means nothing to me. When you’re a world-class player there’s always going to be speculation that you can’t control.

“He’s a Chelsea player. He’s very important to me. I think we’re going to have a really good, hopefully winning relationship in the short term and the long term.”

There has been discussion surrounding where on the pitch Fernandez – who missed training on Monday with illness and is a doubt for the Champions League meeting at home to Pafos – is at his most effective.

He has most often been used in a deeper-lying midfield role alongside Moises Caicedo, though Chelsea have sometimes appeared lightweight with too much of the defensive burden falling on Caicedo, who is physically the more combative and powerful of the two.

Former coach Enzo Maresca sometimes used the Argentina international in a more advanced number 10 role while Cole Palmer was out injured, a position that allowed him to make arguably more effective use of his passing ability, as well as his knack for arriving in goalscoring positions.

During Saturday’s 2-0 win over Brentford, Rosenior started with Fernandez in his more usual midfielder role before moving him forwards after Andrey Santos came on in the second half.

Santos, with whom Rosenior worked at former club Strasbourg, is the obvious alternative to play next to Caicedo.

Playing Fernandez at 10, however, creates the dilemma of what to do with Palmer, who has been out of form recently and was moved out to the right wing in the second half against Brentford.

The former Benfica midfielder, though, remains uppermost in Rosenior’s plans.

“He’s got an extreme skill set, technically he’s outstanding, he covers a lot of ground,” he said. “He’s a very good athlete. He can finish, he can score, he arrives really well in the box when he plays higher up like a forward-running eight or a number 10.

“What I need to do is find out what the chemistry is around the position. It’s not just him, it’s how other players fit around him.

“He can play deeper as a six, which he did really well against Arsenal. He came on against Charlton (at 10) and did really well.

“I don’t like pigeon-holing players. In my career I’ve used players in different roles.”

Rosenior indicated that the future of Raheem Sterling, who has not played for the team during the last 18 months, could be resolved in January.

“We’re in conversations about different things and different options,” he said. “Hopefully that will be clearer in the next few days.”