“He’s not pacey enough, there’s not enough passing” - Pat Nevin makes feelings clear about Chelsea superstar’s position
Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin believes Enzo Fernandez does not have the pace required to play as an attacking midfielder. The Blues have had a great start to the 2024-25 Premier League campaign under Enzo Maresca. They are fourth in the league standings, recording five wins, three draws, and two losses so far.
The west Londoners are level on points with fifth-placed Arsenal but remain ahead on goal difference. While Maresca's side have shown impressive form in his debut campaign, Fernandez seems to have fallen down the pecking order recently.
The Argentine midfielder started Chelsea's first seven league fixtures, barring their 1-0 win over Bournemouth which he missed due to illness. However, for their past three league games, Maresca has opted to start Lavia in midfield alongside Moises Caicedo ahead of Fernandez.
With his place in the starting XI in doubt, Pat Nevin has been discussing alternate positions for the 23-year-old to start in and get more game time. The prospect of Fernandez playing in the No.10 role doesn't make sense to Nevin as he told Squawka:
“It was suggested they thought he was going to be a number ten sort of player. And I can’t see that. He’s not pacey enough, there’s not enough passing for that position. Not in comparison to Palmer, Felix or Dewsbury-Hall, absolutely not.”
Fernandez has made 13 appearances across competitions for the Blues so far this season, recording one assist.
Graeme Souness slams Chelsea's expensive transfer spend including Enzo Fernandez's signing
Liverpool icon Graeme Souness has lambasted Chelsea's hierarchy for their exorbitant transfer spend in recent years. The pundit foresees a substantial number of outgoings as he criticized the club's big-money signings.
One signing he called out in particular is Enzo Fernandez. The midfielder was acquired in January 2023 for a Premier League record fee of £105 million, which was broken by Chelsea themselves after their £115 million move for Caicedo the subsequent summer.
The Blues have spent well in excess of a whopping £1 billion since Todd Boehly & Clearlake Capital's takeover in 2022. Speaking about their transfer business, Souness said (via GOAL):
"It’s still very early to pass any sort of judgment on Chelsea. With their current group of players, they have a chance of finishing in the top four, but they’re still some way off winning the Premier League or Champions League. From the current squad, I think there’ll be an enormous wastage of players and a lot of them will never live up to the levels that people think they will."
"The most obvious one for me is someone who isn’t even in the team at the moment, Enzo Fernandez, on whom they spent £105 million. They’ve bought a load of players who won’t reach the level they would’ve hoped.”
The Blues will clash with FC Noah in the UEFA Conference League today (November 7) before returning to league action against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday (November 10).