Transfer deadline day sees Man City agree $169 million move for Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez

Manchester City is closing in on a transfer deadline day deal for Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez for what would be a joint-British record 125 million pounds ($169 million).

City has agreed a fee with Chelsea, clearing the way for Argentine international Fernandez to complete his move to the Etihad Stadium before the window shuts at 2200 GMT, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been publicly announced.

Fernandez would become the latest big-money signing as part of City’s midfield rebuild, which includes the arrivals of Elliot Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi.

The fee is the same as Liverpool paid for Alexander Isaak last year.

The deal would take City’s spending to around 392 million pounds ($530 million) during this window, according to figures stated by transfer website Transfermarkt.

Anderson cost around 116 million pounds ($156 million) and Bouaddi was 81 million pounds ($110 million).

City’s midfield overhaul comes after the departures of Rodri and Bernardo Silva.

Europe’s top teams are trying to push through last-minute deals before the window shuts, with U.S. striker Folarin Balogun set to be one of the big movers on what is expected to be a frantic day of action.

Balogun is closing in on a move to Everton from Monaco, according to reports.

City’s spectacular spending spree is also set to go on with Everton winger Iliman Ndiaye close to joining for a fee of 60 million pounds ($81 million).

Jack Grealish is on his way out of City again and is expected to return to Everton for another season-long loan.

It looks like being a record-breaking window for the Premier League with 2.82 billion pounds ($3.8 billion) spent so far. The highest spend in one window was 3.14 billion pounds ($4.25 billion) in 2025.

It is also deadline day in Spain, Italy, Germany and France.

The deadline in Germany, France and Italy is 1800 GMT and in Spain it is 2159 GMT.

Premier League

It has been a summer of heavy change at Aston Villa, with a number of star players leaving and a slew of new arrivals.

And the business continued with the deadline day signing of Ibrahim Mbaye from Paris Saint-Germain.

The two-time Champions League-winning winger joins a new-look Villa attack, which has also seen the additions of Nicolas Jackson and Alejandro Garnacho.

Villa, which qualified for the Champions League last season, has lost its opening two league games this term.

Man City’s move for Ndiaye is expected to end its pursuit of Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo.

Spain

Gabriel Jesus completed a move from Arsenal to Barcelona on a three-year deal.

The Brazil striker endured an injury-disrupted time at Arsenal, but was part of last season’s title-winning team.

He is the latest forward to leave the Emirates Stadium during this window, following Leandro Trossard’s move to Besiktas, while Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri are also expected to move.

Italy

Newcastle forward Nick Woltemade is reportedly set to join Juventus on loan after one season in the Premier League.

Germany

Bayer Leverkusen made the biggest splash in Germany on Tuesday by announcing the signing of Ivory Coast right back Guéla Doué – the older brother of France star Désiré Doué – and the return of Moussa Diaby three years after he left for Aston Villa.

Media reports said Leverkusen was paying an initial 30 million euros ($35 million) to Racing Strasbourg for Doué, which could rise to a club-record 36 million ($42 million). It is paying another reported 27 million euros ($31 million) to Al-Ittihad for French winger Diaby.

Diaby scored 49 goals in 172 competitive games for Leverkusen between 2019-23 before he moved to Aston Villa for a reported fee of 55 million euros. He spent just one year in England before his move n 2024 to Al-Ittihad, where he won the Saudi title along with Karim Benzema in 2024-25. Leverkusen said he signed a deal through June 2031 and will again wear the number 19 jersey.

Spanish youngster Marc Guiu left Chelsea for Leipzig. The 20-year-old center forward was part of the Chelsea squad which won the Conference League and Club World Cup a year ago but never became a first-team regular or scored a Premier League goal.

Guiu arrives at Leipzig on a five-year contract for a reported fee of up to 17 million euros ($19.7 million).

France

Lille signed Maurits Kjaergaard as a replacement for highly rated teenage midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, who has left for Manchester City.

The 23-year-old Dane joined from RB Salzburg on a five-year-old deal, the Ligue 1 side said. A versatile box-to-box midfielder, Kjaergaard brings solid experience, having already featured in five European campaigns.

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James Ellingworth from Dusseldorf, Ciarán Fahey from Berlin and Samuel Petrequin from Paris contributed to this report.

James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here