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Enzo Fernandez continues to be linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge in the summer after the Chelsea midfielder cast doubt over his future with recent comments
Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin believes his old club would find it difficult recouping the £107million they paid for Enzo Fernandez if they were to part ways with the midfielder this summer.
Fernandez is currently serving an in-house two-match suspension for his bombshell comments during the international break. The Argentina international, who has been continuously linked with a move to Real Madrid in recent times, said he would like to live in the Spanish capital one day in an interview, throwing his future at Stamford Bridge into major doubt.
Liam Rosenior confirmed last week that Fernandez would not be selected for games against Port Vale and Manchester City, though decided not to strip the 25-year-old of being the club's vice-captain. Fernandez's agent, Javier Pastore, hit back at Chelsea for banning his client, describing the decision as "completely unfair".
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Stamford Bridge insiders told football.london last week that Chelsea have no plans to sell Fernandez in the upcoming summer transfer window despite the recent controversy. If the Blues did end up going their separate ways from Fernandez, Nevin thinks the west Londoners would find it difficult not to make a loss on his transfer fee, three-and-a-half years on from signing him for £107million.
Speaking to Betarades, Nevin said: "At the moment, Chelsea won't be getting their money back because he's had a tough time and he looks tired. If Chelsea are thinking of selling, they need to figure out the misstep and know if it's worth keeping him on.
"Seventeen goals in 100-plus league games and he cost more than £100m. That's okay for a No.10 but it's not great or £100m worth.
"It's more complicated than that because the team was struggling for a while but would it be a disaster if he left and they got some money back to reinvest? Well, Chelsea are a trading team so if they trade well out of it, then great.
"Personally, I would like him to stay, but would it upset me as much as Cole Palmer leaving? No."
Nevin continued: "I used a word which was really harsh but in comparison to the players that were around him and against him in the PSG and Everton games, he looked lumpen, which is a very unusual word to use but he didn't look sharp. He just looked slower and off the pace in comparison.
"Now players can come through that and come out the other side. That can happen, but it's a worrying thing. If I was doing the analysis on the game against Everton, I wouldn't be looking at data. I would use what I saw on the pitch, and showing people when he lost the ball for the third goal, Cucurella chased back and he didn't - and that wasn't the first time that's happened.
"You cannot have that as a midfielder. It's not acceptable and your teammates notice it as well.
"But I want to know why. Is it because he's injured? Is it because he's tired? Because he's been worked, worked and worked. I heard one or two Chelsea fans asking if he's saving himself for the World Cup. I don't know any of these answers.
"Is he saving himself for a move? Is it the fact he's peaked and this is it? I don't know the answer but I hope it's not all of the above. In reality, that's what Chelsea have to figure out."
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