Xabi Alonso on Enzo Fernandez's Omission from Chelsea's Squad

Xabi Alonso insisted Enzo Fernandez’s omission from Chelsea’s squad at Luton was a joint call between himself and the club, as speculation over the midfielder’s future intensifies.

Fernandez, who came off the bench in Monday night’s Premier League opener against Fulham, was nowhere to be seen at Kenilworth Road. Not in the XI. Not even among the substitutes. Chelsea still got the job done, beating Jack Wilshere’s League One side 2-0 thanks to a debut strike from Danny Welbeck and a late own goal forced by Estevao.

The absence was impossible to ignore. With Manchester City understood to be lining up a move before the transfer window closes, the decision felt like more than simple rotation. City want to reunite the 25-year-old with former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca at the Etihad Stadium, and time is ticking towards Tuesday night’s 11pm BST deadline.

Alonso, though, pushed back against the idea that the call was driven by transfer talks.

“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 why Fernandez had been left out.

Reports in Argentina suggested Fernandez had asked not to play. Alonso knocked that down.

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

The questions kept coming. Was the midfielder missing because City and Chelsea are now in direct negotiations?

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

The Chelsea head coach revealed he made the call on Wednesday afternoon, after his pre-match press conference in which he had said he expected Fernandez to feature in some capacity against Luton. The U-turn only fuelled the sense that something is moving behind the scenes.

“It's a decision that I took,” Alonso said, declining to clarify whether he had spoken directly with the player.

“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].”

For now, Alonso is framing it as a one-off selection choice. The clock, and Manchester City, may yet tell a different story.