Full story
City’s midfield rebuild
Manchester City completed a midfield rebuilding push in this summer’s transfer market, investing £380 million to bring in three midfielders and bid farewell to four existing players.
“A total of £380 million was spent solely on bringing in three world-class midfielders.”
The club concluded Pep Guardiola’s 10-year tenure after the 2025-2026 season and appointed Italian coach Enzo Maresca, who said, "It's time to open a new era. Change is necessary."
City’s new midfield trio was formed with Enzo Fernández from Chelsea, Elliot Anderson from Nottingham, and Ayub Bouadi from Lille, with each contract spanning five years.
Fernández arrived on the last day of the summer transfer window for €145 million, while City paid €135 million for Anderson and €100 million for Bouadi.
The signings were designed to replace departures including Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Nico González, and Tijani Reindlers, leaving only Kovacic among existing midfielders.
Fernández’s ‘big club’ dig
Enzo Fernández completed a deadline-day transfer from Chelsea to Manchester City for a joint British record fee of £125m, bringing City’s midfield overhaul to £326m, and he said he had “always dreamed of playing at a club as big as City”.
The BBC framed City’s spending as a £458m Premier League record for a summer window, noting that a joint-British record £125m was spent on Fernández after £116m was committed on Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest.
Fernández’s move also reunited him with manager Enzo Maresca, and the Independent reported that Fernández thanked Maresca for making a significant effort to persuade City’s hierarchy to secure the signing.
BBC analysis highlighted that the departures of captain Bernardo Silva, 2024 Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, Tijjani Reijnders and Nico Gonzalez meant City’s midfield had been completely transformed.
The BBC also raised a question alongside the spending: how Maresca would fit the new midfielders together and whether City had left themselves without a back-up to Erling Haaland.
Money, expectations, and fit
The BBC said City’s record transfer fee was twice broken this summer, with Maresca’s former Chelsea skipper Enzo Fernandez bought for £125m after £116m was committed on Elliot Anderson, and Morocco international Ayyoub Bouaddi, 18, brought in for £86m.
“"an embarrassment of riches to choose from"”
BBC analysis described a selection dilemma for Maresca, with the club having “an embarrassment of riches to choose from” as it starts the Premier League season with back-to-back wins.
In the BBC’s tactical breakdown, it described Maresca moving between a box and a diamond shape in midfield, with Anderson anchoring the midfield and examples including Guehi pairing Anderson at the base against Bournemouth.
The BBC also reported that City feel the squad is stronger at this point than at the beginning of last season, achieved by remaining calm and trusting the transfer strategy.
With City’s spending and departures reshaping the midfield, the stakes for Maresca are immediate as the new signings are expected to be judged not in transfer windows but in points, according to the window’s framing in the coverage.