New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has expressed his resolve to keep Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez at the club, Yankee Scores reports.
The 25-year-old midfielder, who is preparing to take on England in the World Cup semi-finals, is open to leaving and was recently linked with a move to Real Madrid.
But the Spanish club denied chasing a move for Fernandez last week, leaving him with no known alternative destination and a huge £120m asking price, per BBC Sport.
Alonso replied “yes” when asked if he wanted to keep Fernandez. “We have spoken. But, as you know, what we said will be private.
It came during his first wide-ranging press conference since taking over Chelsea following his departure from Real Madrid in January. Bayern Munich chose not to make his loan move permanent but he will return to the squad for at least the club’s pre-season tour of Australia and Asia, he said.
“Nico Jackson is joining the tour in Asia and we are looking forward to him working with us,” said Alonso.
Garnacho Excluded As Roma Move Draws Near
Winger Alejandro Garnacho has not returned to training under Alonso, who took over last Thursday.
Garnacho is set to be kept away from the first-team squad as he tries to engineer a move, with Italian club Roma among those interested, Alonso said.
Chelsea were still in the hunt for a European place when Alonso was appointed, but lost to Sunderland on the final day.
No Europe, No Excuses
Midfielder Andrey Santos arrived at Manchester United an hour before the media conference and Alonso was asked if the squad needed trimming due to a lack of European football.
“[It changed] the small details for sure but the main focus about how we want to start the competition in August, it doesn’t change much,” Alonso said.
“We are aligned with the sporting directors on what we want to reach. The team is good and where we want to reinforce in terms of positions is clear. There are some weeks to go but we are working in a very aligned way – and this is the right way.”
