The window closed with a bang
Manchester City saved their biggest statements for the final hour. At 23:50 BST on deadline day, the deal everyone had waited for crossed the line: Enzo Fernández, Chelsea to Manchester City, £125m. It equals the British transfer record. Minutes later, Iliman Ndiaye followed him through the door from Everton for £65m, taking City’s deadline-day outlay to £190m on two midfielders alone.
The Fernández deal ends the longest-running saga of the summer. Chelsea held out for a figure that matched the record all summer, and City finally blinked in the last hours of the window. For the Argentine World Cup winner, it is a move that finally pairs him with a squad built to chase every trophy available.
Why Ndiaye is the smarter half of the night
The headline belongs to Fernández, but the value play is Ndiaye. The skouted.ai engine rates the 25-year-old at 86 OVR with a market value of €49.5M to €60.5M, and high data confidence behind the number. A £65m fee for a player whose valuation band tops out around €60.5M means City paid a premium of roughly 8 percent over the top of the range.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| OVR | 86 |
| Market value | €49.5M – €60.5M |
| Age | 25 |
| Fee paid | £65m (~€76M) |
| Position | AM/Winger |
| Previous club | Everton |
That is expensive but rational for a peak-age attacker who dragged matches open in a struggling side. Compare that to the Fernández fee, which lands north of £120m for a 25-year-old midfielder whose underlying numbers, while elite, have lived in the shadow of his 2022 World Cup ever since.
What it means for Chelsea and Everton
Chelsea bank a £125m fee and clear the largest wage on their books, hours after also sending Mykhailo Mudryk and Tosin Adarabioyo to Tottenham. The sale funds Graham Potter-style rebalancing, though replacing a midfielder of that calibre in a window that has already shut is impossible until January at the earliest.
Everton’s decision is harsher. Selling Ndiaye for £65m solves their profitability problem instantly, but it strips their most creative player on the same night their £40m move for Folarin Balogun collapsed, leaving David Moyes with a threadbare attack.
AI Verdict: Buy
For City, both deals improve a squad that was already deep. Ndiaye at 86 OVR is the profile that ages gracefully: dribble-heavy creators entering their prime tend to hold value through the first contract. Fernández is the statement; Ndiaye is the business.
View full profile and AI-powered transfer intelligence at skouted.ai