Jamie Carragher claims Manchester City have overtaken Chelsea in the title race after agreeing Enzo Fernandez deal

Agreement reached for Fernandez

According to RMC Sport, Chelsea have accepted a staggering offer of €150m (over £128m) from Manchester City for Fernandez. The Argentine is now set to join Maresca's side on deadline day after making 169 appearances and scoring 31 goals for the London club since his arrival in January 2023.

Chelsea are currently preparing for his departure by targeting Lamine Camara or Manu Kone as a midfield replacement. Fernandez had already indicated that he would no longer wear the Chelsea shirt, having been left out of Xabi Alonso's squad for their recent 4-3 defeat to Brighton.

Carragher assesses the transfer impact

The massive €150m move has drastically shifted expectations for the current campaign. Speaking to Sky Sports, Jamie Carragher delivered a comprehensive verdict on how the deal impacts both clubs, particularly following the departure of Rodri from Manchester City.

Carragher said: "He certainly pushes Man City above Chelsea. Myself and plenty of others have felt Chelsea will have a really good season. And I still believe that a lot of that is on the back of not having European football, having a new manager, the front three that they've got. But they're losing Enzo Fernandez, who, for me has been one of the big players for Chelsea."

Challenging Arsenal for the title

Carragher further explained that securing the 2022 World Cup winner gives Manchester City a significant edge in their title race against reigning champions Arsenal.

Continuing his analysis on Sky Sports, Carragher added: "Man City look a lot stronger now. I would say they're going to be the biggest challengers to Arsenal right now. It is a really good squad. There's no doubt about that. There's been a lot of turnover. I think losing Rodri was a big thing and I thought it would be really difficult to recover from that, but if you said at the end of last season, they would bring in Elliot Anderson and Enzo Fernandez, you'd say, that's a top midfield. They've paid top dollar for it, so it should be. I think that gives them the greatest chance of being the main challenges and maybe the only team who can really wrestle this title from Arsenal."

Deadline day preparations

Man City will now rush to finalise the paperwork for Fernandez before Tuesday's transfer deadline. Meanwhile, Chelsea must urgently secure a replacement like Camara as they prepare for a highly anticipated clash against Arsenal on Sunday. All eyes now turn to how swiftly Fernandez can slot into the starting XI for the upcoming fixtures.