Man City buy costly new midfield - but have they overlooked Haaland cover?

What the report says

Manchester City have completed a major summer rebuild under new boss Enzo Maresca, with BBC Sport reporting a Premier League-record £458m outlay on transfers. The spending was led by three midfield additions: Enzo Fernandez for £125m, Elliot Anderson for £116m and 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi for £86m. Together, they have reshaped a midfield that also lost established names including Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Tijjani Reijnders and Nico Gonzalez.

According to the BBC, City’s recruitment team, headed by director of football Hugo Viana, backed Maresca heavily in his first transfer window. The club believes it has strengthened the squad across the pitch, helped by significant sales that reduced the net spend. The report says City have taken in substantial fees for fringe players and recouped £334m since the turn of the year, softening the impact of the record summer spend.

The main footballing issue now is how Maresca fits the new midfield pieces together. The BBC analysis says Anderson has looked like the holding midfielder most likely to replace Rodri’s role, while Bouaddi, Kovacic, Foden and Cherki can all be used in different central combinations depending on the formation.

However, the report also raises a possible gap up front. With Omar Marmoush gone on loan and Divin Mubama also out, Erling Haaland is now City’s only senior centre-forward, leaving open the question of what happens if he is unavailable.