Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has now identified Enzo Fernandez as his No. 1 transfer target and his main choice to lead the midfield going forward, as the Argentinian international has emerged ahead of Mateus Fernandes of West Ham United and Ayyoub Bouaddi of the Moroccan national team and Lille as the favorite.
It makes sense. Of these three players, Enzo is the most proven, the one playing for a big club in Chelsea, and the one with a World Cup title on his hands. And at the World Cup this year, Enzo continues to be a huge factor, doing all the dirty work and being the main metronome in midfield who is pushing Lionel Messi to break record after record - and Argentina are looking like favorites once again.
Real Madrid will have to play a lot of money to Chelsea, who spent a record 120 million euros to sign him from Benfica a few years ago. And Fernandez has done nothing to hurt his reputation, even as he has hurt Chelsea's leverage by making it entirely obvious for months, including publicly, that Real Madrid is where he wants to be.
Jose Mourinho's choice is not surprising
Los Blancos are going to have to sell to clear space in finances and in the squad for Fernandez, and Mario Cortegana of The Athletic reports that it is Eduardo Camavinga whom Jose Mourinho has decided needs to leave the club to make the Enzo deal happen. But alas, Camavinga has the same stance he has held for months, and that is that he desires to remain with Real Madrid and will make it impossible for the club to let him go.
Perhaps that could force Real Madrid into selling Aurelien Tchouameni instead, and Tchouameni has been an even more disappointing player than Camavinga. Though Camavinga is certainly no No. 6 and has shown a lack of growth, he was more important to two Champions League wins than Tchouameni was to one, and on his best or worst day, he can still shine more than Tchou because he is more active.
At the same time, Tchouameni plays a valuable role as a 6, and even though Enzo would replace him in the starting lineup, Real Madrid still have more 8's than 6's. Though another complicating factor could be the young Thiago Pitarch, who outplayed Aurelien Tchouameni last season despite his age and may already be a better No. 6 than him anyway. Even so, Camavinga appears to be the player Mourinho is ready to give up on, and when the figures from the Premier League come, maybe the Frenchman will have a harder time turning the others down then.
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