LONDON (AP) — Chelsea coach Xabi Alonso has defended the decision to leave Enzo Fernandez out of the squad for Thursday's League Cup win over Luton amid reported interest from Manchester City.
Alonso said the club needs players who “feel the desire to play” as he discussed the midfielder's situation Friday ahead of Chelsea's Premier League game against Brighton on Sunday.
“We need the players that are in the best situation to play," Alonso said. “We need to take everything into consideration, players that are in good moments, players that are not feeling that energy to play. For me it’s very important that they feel that desire to play and to have good preparation."
“We talked, and we decided that (for Luton) it was better not to be part of the squad. He’s a top player, there’s no doubt about that.”
Chelsea beat third-tier Luton 2-0 without Fernandez, relying on a debut goal from new signing Danny Welbeck and a Luton own goal.
Any deal for Fernandez, a World Cup finalist for Argentina last month, would leave Chelsea with little time to sign a replacement before the transfer window closes on Tuesday.
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Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez, left, and Romeo Lavia applaud the fans after the final whistle in the pre-season friendly match between Real Sociedad and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, London, on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)
Chelsea's head coach Xabi Alonso walks off the pitch after the English Premier League soccer match between Fulham and Chelsea in London, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is stuck in a holding pattern on Friday in the countdown to a highly anticipated speech by the head of the Federal Reserve.
The S&P 500 added 0.1% in early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 89 points, or 0.2%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was close to unchanged.
The bond market was also holding relatively steady with less than a half hour to go before Kevin Warsh will give his first speech as chairman of the Fed at an annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The mountain setting has been the backdrop for major policy announcements by the Fed in the past.
Warsh has been adamant so far in his chairmanship that he wants to give financial markets fewer clues about what the Fed plans to do with interest rates to fulfill its job of keeping inflation low and the job market strong. He has said he wants markets to react to what incoming data says about the economy and inflation rather than what the Fed says.
But he’s under pressure to offer more clarity about whether his tough talk about getting high inflation back down to the Fed’s 2% goal is just that, or whether the Fed plans to back it up with action. The Fed has kept its main interest rate steady since December, even though inflation remains well above its target.
Higher rates could help improve inflation, but they would also slow the economy and hurt prices for investments. And President Donald Trump, who appointed Warsh, has been vocal about wanting interest rates to be lower rather than higher.
The U.S. Treasury Department made an unusual move last week to intervene in the bond market to get yields lower on longer-term Treasurys, though analysts said it will likely have only a limited effect.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged up to 4.68% from 4.67% late Thursday.
On Wall Street, Gap jumped nearly 20% after the retailer reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also said Michael Francis, an industry veteran who began his career on the retail sales floor, will take over as head of its Old Navy stores.
Marvell Technology weighed on the market and fell 7.9% even though the chip company reported profit and revenue for the latest quarter that edged past analysts’ expectations. CEO Matt Murphy said its business related to artificial-intelligence technology is strong, and it raised its forecasts for upcoming revenue growth.
But analysts said much of that optimism may have already been baked into Marvell’s stock price, which came into the day with a surge of 184% for the year so far.
In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe following a mixed finish in Asia. South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.8%, and France’s CAC 40 rose 1% for two of the world’s bigger moves.
AP Business Writers Michelle Chapman and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.
Specialist James Denaro works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Options trader Matthew Hefter works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A currency trader passes by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics Co. stock price at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
