Enzo Maresca could drop Fernandez for “insane” star who’s yet to play for Chelsea
The decreasing significance of Enzo Fernandez
When Todd Boehly and his team took over at Chelsea, they used a scattergun approach to spending, which resulted in millions of dollars being spent without having a noticeable effect on the field.
The most intriguing endeavor has to be Fernandez’s, who left Portuguese powerhouse Benfica in January 2023 after winning football’s most prestigious title and winning the Young Player of the Tournament award with Argentina at the 2022 World Cup. Fernandez was signed in a British record deal of £107 million.
The impact of the Argentina international is undeniable. He was in the top 8% of Premier League midfielders last season in terms of passes attempted and the top 6% in terms of progressive passes per 90, according to FBref.
But he’s lost his starting place in the Blues lineup and it’s hard to argue that he deserves it back when Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia have formed such a strong bond in the middle of the park.
Though the 2022/23 campaign was one of troubled waters for Chelsea, Fernandez’s winter introduction provided cause for optimism, offering a combative and cultured taste that spoke of a prosperous Premier League career, once the Blues stabilised.
But he’s failed to rise with his team over the past 12 months and has now been rather ruthlessly benched across Chelsea’s recent top-flight fixtures, against Liverpool and Newcastle United.
There’s a place in this fast-improving Chelsea team for Fernandez’s vision and ball-playing prowess, with Maresca fielding him in a role closer to that of a number ten this season, but recent matches prove that he is not the first name on the team sheet.
And considering that Chelsea have a young talent in Kendry Paez soon to add to the Stamford Bridge ranks, there’s a possibility that Fernandez’s days as a regular starter might be numbered.
Chelsea could replace Fernandez with Kendry Paez
Perhaps that’s a stretch too far: Paez is only 17 and playing for Ecuadorian Serie A club Independiente del Valle, but his potential is something vast, and he would appear to be the perfect option to complement deep-sitting players like Caicedo and Lavia.
Chelsea signed the prodigious midfielder in June 2023 for a fee in excess of £17m, when he was merely 16 years old. Paez has since made headway in his homeland ahead of a permanent link-up with the boys in west London next summer, after his 18th birthday.
A flexible midfielder, Paez has earned acclaim for his fleet-footed dribbling and Lionel Messi-esque movements, hailed as a prospect of “insane” quality by content creator Alex Goldberg.
He might not be quite as crisp as Fernandez in his passing, but Paez certainly achieves far more from an attacking standpoint with the ball at his feet, ranking among the top 1% of midfielders in divisions similar to that of the Ecuadorian top-flight for assists and the top 5% for shot-creating actions per 90, as well as the top 3% for progressive carries and 5% for successful take-ons per 90.
Moreover, Paez has already posted 12 goals and six assists across 63 senior appearances for Independiente, having starred for his nation at Copa America 2024 too.
Chelsea are no longer the ‘Cole Palmer team’, even if the England international has retained his prolific quality and is “the best player in the Premier League”, according to Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher.
Unfortunately, Fernandez is not quite proving his worth, and with the likes of Paez soon to enter the fray, it might be that Maresca has a big decision on his hands in 2025, affording this wonderful teenage talent with more match action ahead of a permanent place higher up on the pecking order.