Man City's busy summer: How Maresca & Co. navigated Rodri exit, rebuilding midfield

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  Rob DawsonSep 4, 2026, 03:11 AM ET

There was a point during the summer when Manchester City's executives felt the need to play down their interest in Enzo Fernández. It's not often the club pour cold water on transfer talk, but on this occasion they did.

Why, then, was the midfielder at City's CFA training base late on deadline day, after signing from Chelsea for a joint-British record fee of £125 million? The answer from the club is that the transfer strategy had to be "fluid" during a window that has seen more change than was expected.

This summer has seen more players leave and more still come in from City's point of view, their squad is stronger now than it was this time last year as Pep Guardiola embarked on what would turn out to be his last campaign in charge. By their calculations, the rebuild -- which began in January with the arrivals of Marc Guéhi and Antoine Semenyo -- has been done with a net spend of around £133 million. To put it into context, that's less than Ipswich Town and Hull City, and around the same as Coventry, this season's three promoted teams.

City have come out of the window smiling, but they've not had everything their own way.

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Sources have told ESPN that even during the World Cup, there was hope -- even expectation -- that Rodri would come back instead of moving to Barcelona. There was still a feeling in mid-July that he would at least stay for the last year of his contract, and maybe even extend. At one point, the idea was for Rodri to have at least a year alongside Ayyoub Bouaddi (who arrived from Lille for £85.6 million) to help the teenager adjust to the Premier League. Instead, Bouaddi is being viewed as Rodri's replacement despite being just 18 years old.

City expect Bouaddi to play a lot this season. His performance for Morocco against Brazil in the summer is being held up as proof that he should be able to handle the responsibility, and according to City, Bouaddi was being tracked long before his breakout World Cup. Other targets, like Fernandez, became more serious options as director of football Hugo Viana tried to plot his way through what became an unpredictable market.

City's hierarchy have shown particular faith in new boss Enzo Maresca by splashing out on Fernandez. The pair worked together at Stamford Bridge last season, and Maresca was heavily involved in every step of the chase for his signature. This effort was referenced by Fernandez in his first interview as a City player on Wednesday, following his deadline day move.

"I'm also grateful because he was very important in bringing me here," said Fernandez. "We were both very eager for it to happen, because it wasn't easy for me to be here. But I know he also made a big effort, speaking to the club, and I'm grateful that he did that."

City were able to spend a yearly total of around £515 million (with £190 million alone on Fernandez and Iliman Ndiaye on deadline day) because of the money they brought in, with £380 million raised with the departures of 11 senior players. Sávio, the former Girona winger who arrived at the Etihad in the summer of 2024, was expected to leave after making it clear he wanted to move to Tottenham (£75 million). Goalkeeper James Trafford (who joined Leeds United for £40 million) and midfielders Tijjani Reijnders (to Al Qadsiah for £52 million) and Nico González (to Newcastle United for £48 million) wanted to play more regularly.

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City insist they have been able to generate high fees for squad players because Guardiola kept everyone involved last season. Trafford was in goal for both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup finals; Reijnders made 47 appearances and scored key goals in December and January; while Gonzalez scored the winner in the FA Cup semifinal against Southampton.

Meanwhile, executives at other clubs have branded City's policy as "failing fast."

There was an argument to keep Trafford, Savio, Reijnders and forward Omar Marmoush (who also joined Tottenham, on loan before a £60 million move next summer) as part of Maresca's squad for the sake of continuity and depth, sources tell ESPN, but instead they were ushered out of the door while their stock remained high. None of the four were at City longer than two years. Had they been kept around for another year, their valuations could have plummeted.

For City, it was a calculated gamble. Letting Gonzalez, Savio and Marmoush go in the last week of the window could have backfired as Maresca's bench at Crystal Palace looked relatively threadbare. But the club backed themselves to bring in a winger -- either Iliman Ndiaye from Everton, or Liverpool's Cody Gakpo -- as well as Fernandez before the deadline on Tuesday night.

There are certain questions about City that will only be answered when there's a verdict in their case with the Premier League, but they remain ruthless operators. As soon as their offer for Gakpo was turned down by Liverpool on Monday, they stepped up work to pinch Ndiaye before Tottenham could secure a deal. A £65 million deal with Everton was reached late the same afternoon.

As the dust settles on the window, things make sense on paper. Ndiaye replaces Marmoush and provides cover on either wing. Brazilian winger Allan, signed for £34 million from Palmeiras, is Savio's replacement. Midfielder Elliot Anderson is in for Bernardo Silva, and Fernandez for Reijnders. Guehi and Vitor Reis, back from a successful loan spell at Girona, are considered replacements for John Stones (who joined Inter Milan) and Nathan Aké (who joined Fenerbahce).

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Gonzalez is the only summer outgoing who has not been directly replaced because Maresca sees Nico O'Reilly as someone who can play at left back and in midfield. Meanwhile, Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki are expected to fight it out to be the first choice No. 10 behind the ever-present Erling Haaland.

To that point, there are concerns internally about the consequences of an injury to Haaland. In that scenario, and with no other out-and-out striker in the squad, it's likely that winger Semenyo would step in.

Change at City has happened at such pace that from the 23-man squad for the Champions League final in 2023, only four players -- Rúben Dias, Rico Lewis, Foden and Haaland -- remain at the club. With the window now closed, their new era gets underway against Coventry at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, and Maresca is now tasked with creating a winning team out of the squad assembled for him at great expense.

City bosses believe their summer business has given Maresca the opportunity to genuinely challenge on four fronts this season, including wrestling the title back from Arsenal.