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Chelsea have Enzo Maresca to thank for welcome £107m boost this season
Enzo Fernandez scored his 13th goal of the campaign for Chelsea in their 1-0 victory over Leeds United at the weekend and Enzo Maresca could be partly to thank for that
CommentsChelseaopinionBobby Vincent Senior Chelsea reporter07:00, 28 Apr 2026
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When he arrived at Chelsea, for a then-record transfer fee of £107million (or thereabouts), there was a bit of uncertainty where Fernandez would play. The Argentine was used as the deepest-lying midfielder, but also sometimes as a No.8.
When Enzo Maresca took over as head coach for the start of the 2024/25 season, the Italian had a clear vision when it came to Fernandez. Maresca wanted the midfielder further up the pitch as a No.10 and almost 18 months ago, we saw the former Chelsea head coach's thinking come to life on the pitch.
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With 75 minutes on the clock away at Leicester City, Fernandez scored what would turn out to be the decisive goal for Chelsea at the King Power Stadium. After making a late run into the box, the Argentine found himself in the right position when the ball fell his way, heading in from inside the six-yard box. The exact sort of goal we've become accustomed to seeing over the past two seasons from Chelsea's second-most expensive signing of all time.
Maresca, speaking after the win over Leicester, explained why he wanted Fernandez in those types of positions. "Today I thought it was the right game to use Enzo even if he was back from international duty [late]," said Maresca. "I think he did very well.
View 2 Images"I'm trying to convince Enzo in the same way as I did last year with [Wilfred] Ndidi and Kiernan [Dewsbury-Hall] that attacking midfielders need to arrive in the box. The reason why he scored today was because he was inside the box and if he was outside the box, he wouldn't have scored. We are happy in the way Enzo is doing."
Sunday afternoon's 1-0 victory over Leeds United, Fernandez scored the only goal of the game to progress Chelsea into the FA Cup semi-final. Incidentally, it was a close-range header; not dissimilar to the aforementioned goal.
He has a habit of scoring these sorts of goals nowadays. Chelsea have Maresca to thank for that for allowing him the freedom to take up such positions in the box and completely transforming the Argentine's game.
Speaking in December of last year, Fernandez said: "Under previous managers, I was more of a No.6. Under Maresca, I'm playing further forward, so I'm scoring goals and getting assists. It's a position where I'm on the ball less, but I am more dangerous in front of goal."
Only Morgan Gibbs-White, out of all Premier League midfielders, has scored more goals this season – in all competitions – than Fernandez, with 16 compared to 13. This is by far Fernandez's best season in terms of attacking return since moving to Chelsea three years ago; with 13 of his 29 goals coming this term.
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Bobby Vincent
Bobby has been reporting on Chelsea since May 2022. In that time, he has been front and centre in perhaps the club's most turbulent time with Roman Abramovich forced to sell, with Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital buying the Blues. Bobby is a regular at press conferences and matches, where he speaks to Liam Rosenior and numerous Chelsea players.
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