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Joe Cole fears that Enzo Fernandez could be tempted by a move to Real Madrid as they're linked with a £100million swoop for the Chelsea midfielder.

The Argentina star moved to Stamford Bridge in the aftermath of their World Cup win in Qatar, joining from Benfica for a then-club record fee of £106m. Fernandez has remained a first-team regular throughout, forming an impressive partnership with Moises Caicedo.

The Blues have not had to part with any of their major names since Todd Boehly and co bought the club, but Real and PSG have been credited with interest in the 25-year-old.

Fernandez has a contract in west London until 2031 and Chelsea would demand a huge fee if they were to let him leave the club. But South American players have often had a huge attraction when it comes to Real and Barcelona, which could yet prove a factor.

Cole told Paddy Power: "He’s an important player, a real leader in that dressing room. He’s getting to the age now where he’s going to want to win the big trophies.

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"If Real Madrid comes calling for any player, it turns their heads. But it’s massively important that Chelsea keep him. I’m not sure what the price tag would be. If this was the Chelsea of 10/15 years ago, you’d say there’s no chance that we’d sell our best players until you absolutely have to. But nowadays I just don’t know."

It has been reported that Fernandez was particularly close to Enzo Maresca, who was sacked on New Year's Day. Liam Rosenior is now in the building and he's not been concerned by the rumour mill, insisting top players will always attract attention.

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"When you’re a world-class player, an outstanding player, there’s always going to be speculation that you can’t control," he said. "He’s been outstanding in the time I’ve worked with him. He’s even surprised me in a good way in terms of what he did on Saturday – to be ill and cover the ground that he did, the way that he’s trained and the way that he’s performed.

"He’s a Chelsea player. He’s very important to me. And I think we’re going to have a really, really good, hopefully winning relationship moving forward in the short term and the long term."

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