Gary Lineker has defended Enzo Fernandez after he fuelled speculation he wanted to leave Chelsea and suggested he was keen on joining Real Madrid.

Fernandez, who has regularly captained the Blues, first cast doubt over his future at Stamford Bridge following Chelsea’s Champions League defeat to PSG.

Asked if he could guarantee that he will be a Chelsea player next season, Fernandez told ESPN: ‘I don’t know, I don’t know.

‘There are eight games left and the FA Cup. There’s the World Cup and then we’ll see.’

Fernandez made a similar comment when directly asked about speculation linking him with Real Madrid later in the month.

In another not-so-subtle transfer hint, the Argentine World Cup winner recently said he would ‘like’ to live in Madrid one day.

Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior said Fernandez had ‘crossed a line’ with his comments and opted to drop the midfielder for two games.

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Fernandez therefore watched on from the stands as Chelsea thrashed Port Vale 7-0 in the quarter-finals of the FA...