Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez may face a worrying predicament at Stamford Bridge after being dropped by Mauricio Pochettino for tactical reasons ahead of the Blues’ 2-0 victory over Sheffield United. Fernandez was a £107m signing at Stamford Bridge and his extortionate transfer fee should make him a guaranteed starter.
Being left out of a Premier League match at home to a club rooted to the bottom of the division should be a warning to the Argentine.
Pochettino ominously revealed that he simply preferred a midfield pairing of Conor Gallagher and Moises Caicedo for the clash with the Blades. Cole Palmer played ahead of the duo in a No 10 position.
Had the Chelsea boss decided to drop Fernandez for fitness reasons amid a packed winter schedule then not many eyelids would have been batted. But the notion that the second-most expensive player of the Todd Boehly era does not command a guaranteed place in any given system is a concern.
“Only 11 can play. It’s a big competition and sometimes you need one characteristic. One profile or another profile,” Pochettino said.
“I need to choose the player and of course we saw the combination between Caicedo and Gallagher and Cole like a No 10 was a possibility for the best combination for today. It doesn’t mean that maybe Tuesday Enzo plays and another is on the bench.”
It is approaching 12 months since Fernandez’s nine-figure move from Benfica rocked English football. There have been flashes of the brilliance that helped Argentina win the World Cup last December.
But the 22-year-old has at times been inconsistent and his best role in Chelsea’s team is unclear. Pochettino has tried him as the deepest midfielder, as a classic box-to-box No 8, and behind striker Nicolas Jackson.
The same cannot be said of Caicedo, whose £115m transfer from Brighton smashed Fernandez’s British record fee and might have eased the pressure on the former River Plate ace. Caicedo has settled well and, more often than not, has looked like he might come to justify his fee.
Fernandez has been accused of cutting a frustrated figure. A scattergun approach to the transfer market has resulted in a squad that at times lacks cohesion, and the biggest losers in that situation can often be those whose job it is to link a team together in the middle of the pitch.
“When you watch them they look like they’re getting a bit frustrated,” talkSPORT pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor said of Fernandez and Caicedo at the weekend.
“They win the ball back and give it to Palmer. Palmer counter-attacks, you’ve got [Nicolas] Jackson and [Mykhaylo] Mudryk. They’re so erratic up front and it must be frustrating for midfielders.”
Fernandez clearly has plenty of time on his side to ensure he realises his potential at Stamford Bridge. But he can be forgiven if there are any doubts over joining Chelsea at such a tumultuous stage of their rebuild under Boehly.
