The Enzo Fernandez Problem

It is hard to ignore

Sat in the Matthew Harding Lower on Sunday in a bruising and emotional second half was quite revealing.

My Season Ticket spot is in the East Upper, so sitting so close to the pitch as rain came down and angers flared against Nottingham Forest gave me a more visceral view on proceedings.

On the positives, Noni Madueke’s determination to drag Chelsea back into the match represented a growing resilience which is commendable. The waves of pressure that emerged even before James Ward-Prowse saw red for handling.

Matz Sels and Robert Sanchez were their teams saviors, preventing late winners from Christopher Nkunku and Jota Silva respectively.

The full-time whistle did not provoke waves of frustration from the most boisterous end of the Bridge as heard following a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace last month. Or even the smattering of boos after a poor opening half against Servette. The recent strong run has clearly earned Enzo Maresca credit, along with the Premier League table after seven games showing Chelsea only four points off the summit, two behind last season’s Champions.

But there was one obvious frustration that grew across the game: the performance of Enzo Fernandez.

The Argentinian’s self-inflicted public faux pas on a bus in July set a concerning tone ahead of a huge season for the midfielder. It is hard to argue his Chelsea career has been a success so far.

Even if you grant some grace for his arrival from Benfica midway through a chaotically poor season in 2023, or the long-standing issues with a hernia injury for most of last season, the hype that preceded his £105m arrival has failed to come to pass.

Fernandez has rarely shown signs of emerging to the levels of Cole Palmer’s talismanic genius, or even the impressive development of Nicolas Jackson.

His more expensive midfield peer Moises Caicedo is arguably Chelsea’s second best player this term. Becoming a certified starter for Maresca, bossing tackles, covering space with great effect and offering some creativity too.

Few people are now talking about Caicedo’s price tag or even questioning his position in the midfield. The same cannot be said for Fernandez, who should be thought of as untouchable.

He is supposed to be a metronomic figure, someone whose effectiveness is clear and obvious.

Enzo rarely looks like that. Sure there are some good passes here and there but as frequent are moments of being dispossessed in dangerous areas, or cheaply giving the ball away. It is hard to say Fernandez has produced many complete performances in blue that are hard to ignore.

On top of that shortcoming, there is growing tendency of Fernandez’s carelessness in possession putting Chelsea on the back foot.

That was exemplified in the first half against Forest when his pass was intercepted by Murillo as Chelsea looked to counter. This led to a ferocious shot by the defender that was well parried by an alert Sanchez.

On its own, this moment could just be tallied up as a moment of good tackling by Murillo which came to nothing due to good goalkeeping. However, it cannot be avoided, the short pass intended for Cole Palmer, the outward annoyance by Fernandez aimed at Palmer when Murillo won possession, and that leading to a shot was reflective of a problem.

Fernandez’s biggest advocates most cite his passing from deep being essential to unlocking defensive lines. This was the perfect example, a moment against a stubborn opponent to finally unleash Chelsea’s speed in transition. And his lack of execution was poor.

As the game became more frantic in the second half, more reflecting a Playstation game than a tactical chess battle, Fernandez’s loose touches directly led to Forest counter-attacks that required interceptions from others.

One of the glaring flaws to Fernandez is his lack of mobility, and at the young age of 23, it is hard to anticipate this is going to radically improve with time.

This flaw becomes an issue when his errors provoke dangerous transitions for the opponent, because the likelihood of him quickly winning the ball back or preventing space from opening up is unlikely

For Caicedo, this is less of an issue given his better athleticism and endurance to cover more ground.

Zero goals or assists from 514 minutes is not impressive, his pass accuracy is lower than Caicedo’s. He is averaging 0.13 xA per 90, only slightly better than Caicedo who naturally sits a little deeper.

Enzo is only winning 42% of tackles, and 46% of duels.0.35 of interceptions too. He is not exactly excelling in aggression or physicality where you could at least say, his all round game his having a positive net effect on the team, the rest will come.

Fernandez has very rarely so far this season stepped out of the malaise, nor shown flashes of brilliance which were evident in the early weeks of his Chelsea career. Where have they gone? Have the injuries and criticism sapped his confidence? Is he being asked to play a more restrained game by his coach? This does not seem to be effecting some of his other peers though.

It is easy to forget those bright early days within the darkness of the 2022/23 campaign where he genuinely got fans off their seats and showed directness in a very aimless squad. Nothing has come remotely close to his starring role in a win away at Leicester, where his passing helped spearhead a rare away triumph that season.

It feels apt to compare Fernandez to Jorginho here. One of the long-standing debates amongst fans stemmed from the Italian’s lack of productivity in exchange from some glaring physical flaws. That is what Fernandez needs to overcome. If you are cheaply giving the ball away, not producing match-winning moments, and also not offering protection in central midfield, what are you there for?

Fernandez is not Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, he cannot just be shrugged off as a “squad player who can play midweek games of less importance”. He is one of the club’s most expensive signings, he has been given the armband by Maresca after his off-pitch controversy.

The coddling of him is equally baffling but kind of unsurprising. It is not a new phenomenon that underperforming expensive players are given special privilege and patience over less-expensive, or I dare I say, homegrown talent.

You cannot equally hail Fernandez as a generational talent that simply must play and is key to Chelsea’s success, but then also cry foul when people look at the evidence and simply ask: where is proof of that?

The problem for Maresca is, Fernandez is not a £20m player. He’s not an academy breakthrough who can be shunned and then sold on for #PureProfit. He is marketed, presented and now endorsed with an armband as one of the club’s most senior figures.

At some point performances have to improve from his skipper, especially with a strongly performing B-team who are pushing for Premier League minutes.

We are only in October but the evidence so far is concerning. Fernandez simply needs to improve to justify his continued trust in the starting eleven.

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