Paul Scholes believes Chelsea have effectively ended their hopes of challenging for the Premier League title.
The Blues broke the world record for sales after sanctioning a deal to sell Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City for £125 million on deadline day.
Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes delivered a blunt assessment of the deal on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, arguing that allowing a key player to join a direct rival has damaged Chelsea’s prospects under new manager Xabi Alonso.
“I don’t think he was unhappy at Chelsea, but he had his head turned by Manchester City,” Scholes said.
“But if Chelsea want to win the Premier League, which, look, I don’t think they can anyway, but they can’t let Enzo Fernandez go.
“They had Malo Gusto in midfield the other day, that’s not going to be good enough. Reece James has started in midfield; that’s not going to be good enough.
“I wasn’t a massive fan of Enzo when he first came, but he’s grown on me, and now he’s a brilliant player. He would be very good for Man City, but Chelsea can’t let it happen, that is a direct rival.”
Scholes also pointed to the previous impact Manchester City had on Chelsea when they appointed Enzo Maresca, claiming it unsettled the squad and “ruined” their season at a time when they were performing well.
“City have already had Chelsea’s pants down with the manager… That ruined Chelsea’s season really because they were flying at the time. If Enzo Fernandez goes to Manchester City, that could potentially ruin Chelsea’s season again.”
Fernandez, who joined Chelsea from Benfica for £107 million in 2023, becomes the joint-most expensive player in Premier League history after the move to the Etihad.