When Pep Guardiola stepped down, the obvious fear was that Manchester City might face a prolonged dip. Instead, the club moved decisively, appointing Enzo Maresca on a three‑year deal in June and then reshaping the squad with record‑breaking spending. On deadline day, City completed a joint‑British‑record £125m transfer for Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández, having already broken their own club record to sign Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for around £116m.

Fernández’s profile fits Maresca’s demand for total central control. The Argentina international can operate as a deep‑lying six, an eight or a ten, and brings big‑game experience from Benfica, Chelsea and the World Cup. His move makes him the first player to be sold for more than £100m twice, after his £106.8m switch to Chelsea in 2023. At the Etihad, he is expected to share the central load with Anderson, whose physicality and progressive passing complement Fernández’s tempo‑setting and ball‑recovery.

City’s attacking core remains built around Erling Haaland, with new wide options adding depth and variety. Iliman Ndiaye arrived from Everton in a deal worth up to £65m (£60m plus add‑ons), offering directness and goal threat from the flanks; Antoine Semenyo, Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku compete for wide roles alongside him. That trio of major signings—Anderson, Fernández and Ndiaye—cost roughly £246m combined. Young midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, signed for around £86m, provides further long‑term depth but faces a steep climb to displace the established central pairing.

The financial scale is historic. City’s total outlay reached about £458m in a single window, a Premier League club record, as the league overall set a new spending high. Rather than regress after Guardiola, City have used that investment to install a refreshed midfield engine and maintain their capacity to compete on all fronts. With Fernández supplying elite control and Anderson adding balance, Maresca has the central foundation he wanted to sustain City’s standard of silverware.