Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has issued a stark warning to Chelsea, declaring that allowing Enzo Fernández to join Manchester City for £125 million could prove fatal to the west London club's hopes of mounting a serious Premier League title challenge.

Fernández completed his move to Manchester City on transfer deadline day in a deal matching the joint-record Premier League transfer fee. The Argentine midfielder had made clear his desire to leave Stamford Bridge and link up with his former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, who now leads the operation at the Etihad Stadium.

Scholes sounds the alarm

Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, Scholes was candid about the scale of the damage he believes the departure inflicts on Chelsea. "I don't think he was unhappy at Chelsea, but he had his head turned by Manchester City," the former England midfielder said.

"But if Chelsea want to win the Premier League — which, look, I don't think they can anyway — but they can't let Enzo Fernandez go. They had Malo Gusto in midfield the other day, that's not going to be good enough. Reece James has started in midfield, that's not going to be good enough."

Scholes conceded that Fernández did not win him over immediately after arriving from Benfica, but his opinion shifted considerably over time. "I wasn't a massive fan of Enzo when he first came, but he's grown on me and now he's a brilliant player. He would be very good for Man City — but Chelsea can't let it happen. That is a direct rival."

A familiar pattern from City

Scholes drew a pointed comparison to the manner in which Manchester City also prised Enzo Maresca away from Stamford Bridge, suggesting the disruption caused by that earlier approach had already cost Chelsea dearly during the season. "City have already had Chelsea's pants down with the manager — they obviously unsettled him and were talking to him about coming in the summer. That ruined Chelsea's season really, because they were flying at the time, they were going really well," Scholes said.

The former Manchester United midfielder left little doubt about how he views the latest development. "If Enzo Fernandez goes to Manchester City, that could potentially ruin Chelsea's season again," he concluded, warning that handing a player of Fernández's calibre directly to a title rival amounts to a double blow the Blues can ill afford.