Xabi Alonso Explains Enzo Fernandez's Chelsea Omission

Xabi Alonso insists Enzo Fernandez’s Chelsea omission was a football decision – but the timing tells its own story.

The Argentine was expected to feature against Luton after coming off the bench in Monday’s Premier League opener at Fulham. Instead, as Chelsea eased past Jack Wilshere’s League One side 2-0, Fernandez was nowhere to be seen. Not in the XI. Not even among the substitutes.

On the pitch, there was a sense of new beginnings. Danny Welbeck marked his debut with a goal, Estevao forced a late own goal, and Alonso’s side moved through the tie with minimal fuss. Off it, a far more intriguing subplot gathered pace.

Manchester City are understood to be lining up a move for Fernandez before the transfer window shuts, aiming to reunite him with former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca at the Etihad. The 25-year-old’s absence at Kenilworth Road felt like the clearest sign yet that something is moving behind the scenes ahead of Tuesday night’s 11pm BST deadline.

Alonso, though, stood firm on his explanation.

“We assess individually, collectively, what's the best for the team, for tonight, what was better for other players that were playing and we take the decision,” he said when pressed on leaving out Fernandez.

Reports in Argentina had suggested the midfielder had asked not to play amid the noise around his future. Alonso knocked that back quickly.

“No, it was a decision from myself and from the club,” he stated.

The questions kept coming. Was the omission linked to club-to-club talks between City and Chelsea? Again, Alonso pushed the focus back onto the game.

“No, it's just because of the game today and we had other players that needed minutes and it was that way.”

The Chelsea head coach revealed he made the call on Wednesday afternoon, after a press conference in which he had still been planning for Fernandez to feature in some capacity against Luton. Somewhere between those two points, the landscape clearly shifted.

“It's a decision that I took,” Alonso said, without confirming whether he had spoken directly to the player about it.

What he did stress was Fernandez’s conduct.

“He's a good professional. He's training well and I have nothing to say about him. It was just a decision that we had to take, thinking about the game that we're playing tonight and we'll see for Sunday [against Brighton].”

So Chelsea move on to Brighton with three points, a debut goal for Welbeck and minutes in the legs of others. The bigger question hangs over a midfielder who, on nights like this, would normally be at the heart of things.

If this was only “about the game today”, Sunday will tell us how long that line holds.