Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez 'interested in future Barcelona move'

Soon after the start of 2023, the Blues committed to paying Benfica a fee of £106.8m to get a deal for the World Cup winner over the line.

At times, the Argentina star has struggled to make an impact, with just two goals and three assists coming from his 38 appearances in the Premier League.

However, earlier this week, the 23-year-old delivered arguably his best performance in a Chelsea shirt, starring alongside Moises Caicedo in midfield and scoring a majestic free kick in the 3-1 victory at Aston Villa in the FA Cup.

Fernandez responded by holding up his shirt in a show of commitment to Chelsea on the back of rumours that he was interested in securing a quick departure from Stamford Bridge.

With a contract to 2031, or 2032, as reported by some outlets, Fernandez seems to be in a weak position to engineer a transfer to another club, even if that was his preference.

His agent also stated earlier this week that the former River Plate player was invested in Chelsea's project in the long term, rather than being tempted elsewhere.

Nevertheless, according to Sport, Fernandez is an admirer of Barcelona and would like to represent them in the future.

The report says that Fernandez is seduced by the possibility of representing the Catalan giants, even if such a transfer looks highly unlikely for the foreseeable future.

Barcelona's financial issues have been well-documented, the La Liga champions from 2022-23 already in a position where widespread cutbacks must be made ahead of 2024-25 to meet all regulations.

How president Joan Laporta and fellow club officials go about achieving that remains to be seen, whether it be through selling a number of squad members or cashing in on at least one star name.

Either way, an alleged €100m (£85.36m) will need to be generated during the summer if they wish to be in a position where they can make any notable additions to their squad.

That effectively rules out Fernandez switching to Camp Nou later this year, yet the report implies that such a deal 'should not be viewed as impossible'.