Could Chelsea still sell Enzo Fernandez before transfer deadline?

The Enzo Fernandez story has been one of the biggest transfer sagas of the summer so far.But is it conceivable now that Fernandez is not at Stamford Bridge next month?Last Wednesday, news broke that Chelsea had set an arbitrary deadline of 5pm BST on Friday for bids from potential suitors to be tabled.Chelsea desired clarity as to whether new manager Xabi Alonso would have Fernandez in his squad for his first campaign in charge, and so didn’t want the saga to linger into the last few weeks of the window.All along, Chelsea valued Fernandez at £120million, refusing to consider his exit for anything below that figure.Ex-Blues boss Enzo Maresca wants to reunite with Fernandez and all eyes were focused on Manchester City leading up to Friday’s deadline.Chelsea had communicated with all potentially interested parties to inform them of the payment terms they would be willing to accept for Fernandez. But the 5pm deadline passed and no written offer was made.Might Chelsea still sell Fernandez anyway? That will depend heavily on a couple of factors. Firstly, whether the interest in him remains.Read MoreBut a bid close to their valuation would surely put that stance to the test and force Chelsea to consider whether to maintain their hard line instead of cashing in. A buying club would have to agree fresh terms with Chelsea, after the pre-deadline terms were taken off the table, and it could cost them even more than £120m, given that Chelsea would then be scrabbling around for a replacement before the window closes.If Chelsea buckled and felt an offer was too good to decline, Fernandez could still leave this summer.But if they stick to their current stance, then he would remain a Chelsea player at least until June 2027 and feature heavily under Alonso this season.