Manchester City have completed a huge overhaul of their squad, spending a Premier League-record £458m during the summer transfer window. A major part of the rebuild has focused on completely reshaping their midfield.
However, the size of City's spending does not tell the entire story.
New manager Enzo Maresca received strong backing from sporting director Hugo Viana during his first transfer window since taking over from Pep Guardiola. City's club-record transfer fee was even broken twice during the summer as they aggressively reshaped the squad.
City initially committed £116m for Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson, before paying a joint-British record £125m for former Chelsea captain Enzo Fernandez. The club also signed highly rated 18-year-old Morocco international Ayyoub Bouaddi for £86m.
Together, the three midfielders represented the majority of City's major summer spending.
The departures of captain Bernardo Silva, 2024 Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, Tijjani Reijnders and Nico Gonzalez have resulted in an almost entirely new midfield at the Etihad.
Club sources are reportedly extremely pleased with the transfer business conducted over the summer, as well as the groundwork laid during the January window. City had already accelerated plans to sign long-term targets Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi earlier in the year.
The rebuilding process actually began much earlier. City's transformation of the squad that lifted the Champions League trophy in 2023 accelerated in January 2025 following a difficult opening half to that campaign.
Only four players from the starting XI and substitutes involved in City's Champions League final victory over Inter Milan in Istanbul remain at the club.
Maresca Faces Plenty of Selection Decisions
Maresca now has the luxury of having established options in almost every position, with the club believing its squad is considerably stronger than it was at the start of last season.
City's hierarchy is understood to be satisfied with the way the recruitment strategy has been implemented, particularly the decision to remain patient and stick with their long-term plans.
But despite the extensive rebuild, several important questions remain.
The biggest immediate issue concerns how Maresca will balance his new midfield options and determine the best combination from a group of expensive signings.
There is also another potentially serious concern: have City spent so heavily on rebuilding their squad that they have failed to provide adequate cover for star striker Erling Haaland?
Haaland remains City's primary goal threat, but the lack of an obvious natural replacement could become a problem if the Norway international is unavailable for an extended period.
With such an enormous investment in the squad, City will be expected to challenge for major honours once again. The success of the rebuild may ultimately depend not only on how well the new midfield works together, but also on whether Maresca has enough attacking depth to cope when his first-choice players are missing.
