Joe Cole fears Enzo Fernandez could have ‘his head turned’ should Real Madrid reach out to tempt him right into a move away from Chelsea.
The Argentina international is into his third yr as a Chelsea player having joined the Blues for a then-club record fee of £106million from Benfica in January 2023.
He has been a fixture within the side under each head coach he has played under in west London but interest from abroad continues to mount.
Paris Saint-Germain have been credited with interest within the 25-year-old while Real Madrid are also admirers.
Fernandez has a contract at Stamford Bridge until 2031 and given the worth Chelsea paid to bring him to the capital it might likely require an unlimited fee to tempt the Blues into doing business.
But former Chelsea star Cole believes a suggestion to hitch Los Blancos would tempt any player – including Fernandez.
‘He’s a very important player, an actual leader in that dressing room,’ Cole told Paddy Power. ‘He’s attending to the age now where he’s going to need to win the large trophies.
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‘If Real Madrid comes calling for any player, it turns their heads. Nevertheless it’s massively essential that Chelsea keep him. I’m undecided what the worth tag could be.
‘If this was the Chelsea of 10/15 years ago, you’d say there’s no likelihood that we’d sell our greatest players until you absolutely need to. But nowadays I just don’t know.’
It has been reported Chelsea haven’t any intention of selling Fernandez with Liam Rosenior this week dismissing talk over his future.
‘It means nothing to me,’ Rosenior said.
‘While you’re a world-class player, an impressive player, there’s at all times going to be speculation you can’t control. He’s been outstanding within the time I’ve worked with him.
‘He’s even surprised me in a great way when it comes to what he did on Saturday – to be unwell and canopy the bottom that he did, the best way that he’s trained and the best way that he’s performed.
‘He’s a Chelsea player. He’s very essential to me. And I believe we’re going to have a very, really good, hopefully winning relationship moving forward within the short term and the long run.’
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