A Stamford Bridge friendly quickly turned into a referendum on Enzo Fernandez’s Chelsea future, as sections of the home crowd booed the midfielder during a 3-1 win over Real Sociedad. Morgan Rogers marked his first Chelsea appearance with an early goal and Joao Pedro added two more, but the noise around Fernandez dominated the narrative.
Enzo Fernandez was subjected to jeers from some Chelsea supporters when he came on in the 62nd minute, less than 24 hours after the Friday 17:00 BST transfer deadline Chelsea had set for themselves had passed without a move materialising.
The Argentina midfielder had wanted to join Real Madrid earlier this summer, but the Spanish club later walked away from a deal. His representatives also spoke with Manchester City, though no proposal came close to Chelsea’s £120m valuation before Friday’s deadline.
The first signs of dissent came 45 minutes before kick off, when his name was read out to early arrivals at Stamford Bridge. More boos were audible when he came on in the 62nd minute, but the crowd was split, with other fans immediately chanting his name in support.
Chelsea and Alonso showed their backing in a visible way: when Reece James left the pitch, he handed the captain’s armband to vice captain Fernandez as he normally would. Every touch of the ball from Fernandez produced a mixture of boos and cheers, and some fans even celebrated when he was fouled.
The reaction underlined a divide among supporters. Some are willing to move on from a saga that now appears likely to end with Chelsea keeping one of their best players. Others remain unhappy about what they see as disloyalty, pointing to Fernandez’s public comments about wanting a move to Madrid and his agent Javier Pastore’s claim that the player is underpaid.
How fans of the other 19 Premier League clubs respond to Fernandez will also be telling, given his celebrations and social media jibes after Argentina beat England in a World Cup semi final in July. That backdrop remains relevant whether he stays at Chelsea or Manchester City decide to revive their interest and try to reunite him with former manager Enzo Maresca before the transfer window closes on 1 September.
On the pitch, Morgan Rogers needed only seven minutes to open his Chelsea account. He was first to react after Alex Remiro parried Joao Pedro’s initial header, and within 10 minutes of his debut supporters were already singing his name.
The £117m club record signing from Aston Villa started brightly and linked well with Cole Palmer and Pedro in Chelsea’s front three. Importantly, he faded as the match progressed, which was understandable after less than a week of training following his holiday before playing 62 minutes.
Joao Pedro has been the standout performer of Chelsea’s pre-season. He headed the team back in front in the 47th minute after Jon Mikel Aramburu’s volley had equalised for Real Sociedad just before half time. Pedro then sealed the result with a side footed finish 30 minutes later.
Pedro has now scored eight goals in seven pre-season matches. Alonso used him as the central striker, with Rogers and Palmer operating just behind, in a 3-4-2-1 shape that could feature in the Premier League opener at Fulham.
This was Alonso’s first match in charge at Stamford Bridge. He started Robert Sanchez in goal and set up a back three of Wesley Fofana, new signing Maxence Lacroix and Levi Colwill from right to left. Pedro Neto played at right wing back and Marco Palestra on the left, while captain Reece James and Moises Caicedo formed the midfield behind the front three.
Substitute wing back Pep Chavarria also made his debut, although several notable players were left out. Alonso has said he will not be tied to a back three or four, but this system was also used in the 3-0 win over AC Milan a week earlier.
Chelsea still have 40 senior professionals on their books, which forced Alonso to omit a large group. Nicolas Jackson, Liam Delap, Mykhailo Mudryk, Tosin Adarabioyo and Mamadou Sarr were all absent despite featuring in earlier pre-season matches.
Those five are either available for transfer or attracting loan or permanent interest. Mudryk and Sarr are targeting Premier League loan moves, Jackson is available for £65m, Delap for £50m, and Tosin has interest from Benfica and Marseille. Alonso did not hold a media conference to explain his selection, but multiple sources said leaving them out was his decision.
New signings Emmanuel Emegha, Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson, along with recalled loanee Aaron Anselmino, were also missing potentially through injury. Unlike the likes of Delap and Mudryk, those four were sitting near the squad just behind the bench alongside third choice goalkeeper Teddy Sharman-Lowe.
There was further squad intrigue as Fernandez featured but new midfield signing Valentin Barco, who joined from Strasbourg, did not get onto the pitch for what would have been his first appearance.
Trimming the squad remains a significant task for Chelsea, who still need to offload at least 15 players, with only 17 days left in the transfer window to reach a squad of 25.
With the transfer window closing on 1 September and a bloated first team squad still needing major cuts, Chelsea’s preparations for Fulham are as much about exits as tactics. The mixed reception for Fernandez made clear that resolving his situation, one way or another, will continue to follow Alonso’s side into the new season.
