Manchester City have completed a sweeping rebuild of their squad, headlined by a fully reworked midfield, with spending reaching £458m—a Premier League record for a summer window.
But the headline figure doesn’t tell the whole story.
New manager Enzo Maresca, in his first window since succeeding Pep Guardiola, received full backing from director of football Hugo Viana, and City broke their transfer record twice.
A joint-British record £125m secured Maresca’s former Chelsea captain Enzo Fernandez, following a £116m move for Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest. The club also paid £86m for 18-year-old Morocco international Ayyoub Bouaddi. Those three deals accounted for most of City’s incoming business.
With the exits of captain Bernardo Silva, 2024 Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, Tijjani Reijnders and Nico Gonzalez, the midfield has been rebuilt from the ground up.
Senior figures at the club are delighted not only with this summer’s activity but also with January’s, when they accelerated plans to sign long-term targets Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi.
Looking further back, the overhaul of the 2023 Champions League-winning side truly began in January 2025 after a difficult start to that season.
Only four players remain from the starters and substitutes who beat Inter Milan in Istanbul.
Maresca now has two established options in almost every position. City believe the squad is stronger now than at the start of last season, achieved by staying calm and trusting their recruitment plan.
Still, major questions linger.
How will the new midfield pieces fit together?
And despite the vast outlay, have they left themselves without a true backup for Erling Haaland?