Inside Man City's summer of streamlining: Enzo Maresca's new strategy for squad depth, where Elliot Anderson and Enzo Fernandez fit in and how Hugo Viana quickly fixed the mistakes of 2025

Elliot Anderson had only been back in the country for 48 hours, still processing England's defeat by Argentina, when his day arrived. Going up to Manchester to officially sign the deal of a lifetime before enjoying deserved time off on two separate holidays with his brothers and girlfriend.

The interest had been heavily signposted, with Manchester City making relevant enquiries just before Christmas, and the 23-year-old was earmarked as the man to add much-needed punch into a midfield that felt light and yearned for the Rodri of old.

He had been anticipated to arrive, smiling with Hugo Viana and meeting Enzo Maresca, as the most expensive British footballer of all time - though that £116million fee paid to Nottingham Forest was eclipsed by Chelsea and Morgan Rogers within days of the agreement being reached during the World Cup.

And he didn’t even end the transfer window as City’s record signing either, Enzo Fernandez sourced from Chelsea for £125m in the nick of time on deadline day. So late – City threatened to pull out amid the posturing – that he was having a medical at almost 10pm and posing for photographs in complete darkness.

But irrespective of the finances and what ultimately transpired in City’s hectic window, the conversation around the dinner table at the Ivy Asia on July 22 between Anderson, his family and representatives would have circled to how he was one of the faces of this rebuild. A pillar of Maresca’s midfield, huge trust in somebody whose stock is rising rapidly yet will only taste the Champions League for the first time in Porto on Tuesday.

Midfield was clearly the area identified as the one requiring most surgery. Anderson’s early displays, powerful and authoritative, suggest he is picking up from where he left off in taking more responsibility in an England shirt. Next to him stands the divisive character of Fernandez, a proven winner, a signing Maresca pushed for personally, and who offers a nastiness that City have probably missed in the past two years.

Ironic, really, that City’s new-look engine room is on show in Europe for the first time at the Estadio do Dragao – the scene of the 2021 final defeat by Chelsea, when Pep Guardiola went without a conventional holding midfielder. The decision is still debated in the bars of Manchester to this day.

When taking deep breaths at 11pm last Tuesday, City were satisfied with their work, totalling a net spend of £145m following heavy sales, and there is an insistence that the squad is now in a significantly more advantageous position than a year ago.

That is largely because the two windows of 2025 have aged poorly, with Tijjani Reijnders, Omar Marmoush and Nico Gonzalez all having been let go less than 18 months after landing. 

City rectified those mistakes by earning their money back on all three, with Tottenham owning an obligation to purchase Marmoush for £60m once his loan finishes. And not forgetting the astonishing £85m for two-goal Savinho, bought a year earlier.

Another 2025 signing, Rayan Ait-Nouri, cannot buy a game at left back and Manchester United even asked whether the Algerian was available for transfer. In truth, allowing Ait-Nouri to leave as well would have left City too short and that throws up an intriguing subplot to their summer.

It feels deeper, this squad. It feels more complete. But there are fewer players. Twenty-two senior outfielders last year plays 20 this. In the Treble season, there were 18.

With ten first-teamers departing since May, six coming in, this has been a streamlining. Is the thinking clearer now than it was a year ago, when Txiki Begiristain was handing over and Guardiola’s time began drawing to a close? The proof will be in the progression over the next three years and these past few months will likely define Viana’s tenure at the Etihad.

The idea on the squad’s make-up appears to have shifted slightly, with more emphasis placed upon individual players battling a team-mate in specific positions – much like how Thomas Tuchel ran the England team in the build-up to the World Cup – rather than demanding they are capable of performing in three or four different areas.

How that works or evolves will only become clear over time, as with much of this new era, and City’s idea that Antoine Semenyo is the alternative No9 to Erling Haaland suggests they will still be leaning on some versatility.

What follows over the next ten days – Porto, United at Old Trafford on Sunday and then the Carabao Cup against Norwich City – should provide clues as to what sort of City manager Maresca sees himself as. 

Settled side or heavy rotation? There will have to be some caution – Porto have won all six of their games this season, conceding only once, and Guardiola found out how troubling the Champions League league phase can be.

With the derby on the horizon, Maresca must decide whether to go same again or mix things up in Portugal. Given it certainly looks as if the quality gap between individuals fighting for the same position has narrowed with the recent business, there could be more confidence in tweaking with the sort of regularity that Guardiola was famed for.

Maresca has talked up the need for Ayyoub Bouaddi and Iliman Ndiaye to be offered minutes, while Phil Foden didn’t start against Coventry City.

Before they flew out to Porto on Monday afternoon, Maresca had the music blaring during the early part of City's training session, as is customary under him. The Italian likes his house music and the fitness coaches are in control of the tracks for the warm-ups. Maresca is quietly convinced he will get a tune out of City’s reimagined squad.