Will Man City move for Fernandez as Chelsea deadline approaches?

Could today be the day that decides potentially one of the biggest transfers in history?

Chelsea set a deadline of Friday at 17:00 BST for offers for Manchester City target Enzo Fernandez, who they value at £120m.

The potential move would see the Argentina midfielder link up again with new City boss Enzo Maresca, who was formerly his manager at Chelsea.

"I don't think we're going to do something today," said Maresca when asked in a news conference on Friday if they were likely to do imminent transfer business.

But that does not mean they will not start to make their move behind closed doors.

City have already made a big-money midfield signing this summer in Nottingham Forest's Elliot Anderson for £116m.

A potential deal for Fernandez seems to rely on City selling Spain midfielder Rodri, officially the best player at the 2026 World Cup among numerous other accolades, to Barcelona.

And it could increase the potential beef between City and Chelsea following Maresca's move this summer.

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Would Fernandez deal rely on Rodri exit?

The answer to the question is yes. City are not planning to sign Fernandez if Spanish World Cup-winner Rodri stays.

Defensive midfielder Rodri has been a crucial part of City's success in recent years, helping them win the 2022-23 Treble - including scoring the winner in the Champions League final against Inter Milan.

The 30-year-old has played 298 times, lifting a total of four league titles, plus several cups - and winning the Ballon d'Or.

Rodri wants to return to his native Spain and join Barcelona - with Real Madrid having dropped out of the chase - and City are asking for 80m euros (£68.4m).

But Barca's opening bid for a player out of contract next summer was only £38.5m.

BBC Sport's Simon Stone says the Rodri and Fernandez deals happening are dependent on each other - but do not need to go through at the same time.

If City knew Rodri was going it would enable them to make a bid for Fernandez.

And it is possible he could even sign before Rodri is ready to play again after a minor back procedure.

Would Fernandez take Rodri's place in the team?

Maresca is clearly a huge fan of Fernandez, having made him Chelsea captain when Reece James was injured.

And he played the Argentine in 79 of his 92 games in charge.

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.

That means there are several places Fernandez could fit into Maresca's City team.

The Abu Dhabi-owned club also signed England midfielder Anderson from Forest this summer.

Anderson, like Fernandez, has played in various midfield positions - defensive and further forward.

So that would give Maresca some flexibility when naming a team - and means Anderson and Fernandez would be perfectly capable of playing together.

City continue to be linked to another defensive midfielder too in Lille's Ayyoub Bouaddi.

Fernandez's relationship with Chelsea worsened after the exit of Maresca in January.

In March he criticised the club after a heavy defeat by Paris St-Germain in the Champions League - and then said his dream was to move to Madrid.

Those Madrid comments led to Chelsea dropping him for two games.

Last month Real Madrid released a statement saying they would not be signing Fernandez - which left City as the only real contenders.

How strict is this deadline?

This deadline is just an arbitrary one Chelsea have set City - or any other team - to make an offer for Fernandez.

The actual transfer deadline is on Tuesday, 1 September at 23:00 BST.

BBC Sport's Chelsea reporter Nizaar Kinsella says insiders insist the chance will be gone and Fernandez will stay until next summer, if City do not make their move on Friday.

He adds it is seen as a win-win for Chelsea, who either keep their player or bank £120m.

Whether Chelsea would actually turn down one of the biggest transfer offers in history - if it came a few days later - remains to be seen.

But clubs do often stick to their deadlines - as Manchester United learned in 2020.

They felt Borussia Dortmund were all talk when they set a deadline of 10 August to sign Jadon Sancho.

But when the Red Devils increased their bid after that date, Dortmund rejected it - and they had to wait another year to sign him.