Манчестер Сити зуны солилцооны цонхыг Энцо Фернандесын наймаагаар өндөрлүүллээ

Manchester City’s transfer window is a case of better late than never.

The past few weeks have often been regarded as uncertain and panicked from the outside looking in, as players were sold with weeks of the window left and much-needed replacements only brought in late in the day — in some notable cases, very late.

There was a hint of anxiety about the deadline-day purchases of Iliman Ndiaye and Enzo Fernandez, but ultimately City have remodelled their squad significantly, replacing bona fide club legends with exciting arrivals and shipping out unconvincing performers for significant fees.

The fact that many of those unconvincing performers were signed in the past 18 months should provide a hint of caution, but City intended to fully back new coach Enzo Maresca and, after finalising a deal for top target Fernandez on the final day, they can be pleased they have done that.

“In the summer, we know exactly what we want to do, who we are targeting, and I promise you, we’ll be as efficient and swift as possible.”

That was the message from chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the end of last season but while City moved relatively early to secure a then-Premier League record deal worth £116million ($157m) for Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson, the bulk of their business had to wait until the final week of the window.

Their long-anticipated capture of Fernandez even looked in danger of falling flat on the penultimate day, after Chelsea indicated they wanted a fixed fee of £135m, City having made an opening offer of £104m plus add-ons. City said they were prepared to walk away but in the end agreed to pay £125m on Tuesday afternoon.

On Tuesday morning, Fernandez’s family were planning to travel to Manchester from London but at that stage they still did not know whether the player had permission from Chelsea to leave.

City are happy that after difficult negotiations they lowered the £135m demands at the very end of the window, though Chelsea had made it known they had told Fernandez’s camp in May that he could go this summer for £120m. They set a very public deadline of 5pm on August 14 for bids to arrive, which City did not appear to take seriously. After that cutoff, Chelsea wanted a higher fee.

It has left the impression that City ended up paying an extra £5m by waiting until the end of the window.

Either way, Fernandez had been a target from the outset. The Athletic reported City’s interest in April when previous manager Pep Guardiola’s future appeared uncertain. Behind the scenes, City had known Guardiola would be moving on for around a month, and the intention was for Maresca to replace him.

Before the end of the season, City had decided Fernandez would be a key target, knowing that Rodri could leave. During pre-season in Asia, Maresca stressed that he had not asked City to specifically sign several Chelsea players, but did not rule out the possibility that somebody might arrive from Stamford Bridge before the deadline.

Malo Gusto had been seen as an ideal option for right-back, but City had no intention of paying Chelsea’s £80m asking price. They also scouted Pedro Neto extensively and felt he ticked a lot of boxes for a winger, but they were not willing to pursue a deal for the level of fee Chelsea would have wanted.

But there was always an intention to get the Fernandez deal done. The two Enzos became incredibly close during their time together at Chelsea and enjoyed long conversations about football. Fernandez voiced his displeasure when Maresca left Stamford Bridge in January and was very keen to play for him again.

Maresca covets the 25-year-old’s personality, dynamism, understanding of his game plan and ability to change matches with important contributions.

Sources close to Maresca who, like others referenced in this article, spoke anonymously to protect relationships, say he had been given a big say over transfers, one of the benefits of being the new man in the job, and he worked closely with director of football Hugo Viana throughout the summer.

Several key areas were identified for strengthening by City this year: right-back, central midfield and the right wing, but other business would need to be done due to an expected raft of departures.

City knew they would be facing one of their busiest summers in years owing to the number of players who were keen to leave after falling out of favour last season, but by the time their pre-season tour had kicked off in Hong Kong at the end of July, several important members of staff not directly linked to the recruitment process were wondering when things would spring into action.

Some at the club had been expecting new signings to fly out to Asia and join the team in the middle of the tour, but it quickly became apparent that would not be happening. Even the outgoings appeared to be on hold at that point, with Mateo Kovacic revealing in Hong Kong that he would see out the final year of his contract and Nico Gonzalez telling reporters in South Korea that he fully intended to stay.

By then, plans to sign a right-back had been shelved after failing to identify any suitable options. Ayyoub Bouaddi, who caught the eye at the World Cup with Morocco, had already been identified as a target before the tournament and talks for the 18-year-old went on throughout the summer. Lille were reluctant to sell and their president, Olivier Letang, is renowned for driving a hard bargain.

A feeling of stasis had developed in recent weeks, with deals for Bouaddi and Fernandez dragging on while players were leaving left, right and centre.

When City held an open training session in Manchester three days before the Community Shield, Tijjani Reijnders walked out onto the pitch with his team-mates but did not train as he prepared for a move to Saudi Arabian side Al Qadsiah. Savinho was said to be missing due to illness while a protracted move to Tottenham Hotspur played out.

Hours after City lost 3-0 to Arsenal in Cardiff, news broke of an agreement with Barcelona for Rodri. In the following days, The Athletic reported that Savinho (now known as Savio) and Omar Marmoush were of interest to Spurs and Gonzalez was wanted by Newcastle United.

City could bank an initial £265m for Savio, Reijnders, Rodri, Gonzalez and James Trafford, who wanted out after Gianluigi Donnarumma usurped him as first-choice goalkeeper weeks after he signed last summer. Add-ons are likely to nudge that number up by a few more million, while Tottenham are obliged to buy Marmoush for £60m next summer after a year on loan.

It means City clawed back money for players who, in many cases, were signed in the past two years to be part of a much-needed rebuild but had not performed.

The exodus left the squad considerably short of numbers heading into the season, with selling clubs aware they needed players and had plenty of money to spend. City had intended to replace every outgoing, but in the end felt that Nico O’Reilly would be a suitable option in midfield in place of Gonzalez, as they are well stocked at left-back with Josko Gvardiol and Rayan Ait-Nouri.

Despite being disappointed with his first season at City, Ait-Nouri had resolved to stay and see how he fared under Maresca — but after not being brought on during Friday night’s game against Crystal Palace, it emerged that Manchester United had enquired about a loan. United sources say Ait-Nouri’s representatives suggested the idea, but they were not willing to agree to the obligation to buy that City insisted on.

Rayan Ait-Nouri was the subject of deadline-day interest from Manchester United (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

When it comes to wingers, sources familiar with the recruitment process had indicated midway through the summer that there was no suitable, top-tier option on the market, but City’s need to strengthen the forward line following Savio and Marmoush’s exits meant that solutions would need to be found.

Palmeiras winger Allan, 22, quickly emerged as one such solution, though his modest goal and assist tally alarmed supporters when the wisdom of City’s market strategy was being questioned. Despite Allan’s lack of international experience — at youth and senior level — City believe they have identified a dangerous dribbler and a dogged defender who can take his game to another level.

A mini-saga played out in the days leading up to the deadline as City pursued a second forward option. It revolved around Cody Gakpo and Ndiaye, and included a speculative enquiry for former City forward Julian Alvarez.

City juggled negotiations with Gakpo and Ndiaye in the past seven days, enabling them to flit between the two depending on who was most desired or, in the event, most realistic.

Alvarez had been determined to join Barcelona this summer. Atletico Madrid blocked the move but were reluctantly open to selling him abroad as an alternative, given the forward’s obvious desire to leave. Arsenal showed the most concrete interest but the Argentinian had little inclination to move back to England following his time with City between 2022 and 2024.

As City surveyed the market for forward options last week, several sources familiar with Alvarez’s situation indicated that his former side monitored developments to see whether a return would be possible, but did not receive any encouragement. City deny they made any approach to Alvarez’s camp.

Also last week, City approached Liverpool forward Gakpo and, in the meantime, progressed in talks with Everton for Ndiaye. City appeared to be in the driving seat going into the weekend, despite interest from Tottenham.

By Saturday evening, Gakpo had been convinced about the merits of joining City and had agreed terms, meaning the Ndiaye interest was put on the back burner.

Following the arrival of Bradley Barcola at Anfield, it appeared Gakpo would struggle for regular football, and Liverpool continued to pursue another forward. Meanwhile, Ndiaye was nearing a move to Tottenham, with Richarlison lined up to return to Everton as part of the deal.

But Liverpool were struggling to reach a deal for their forward targets, with Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace setting high valuations for Yankuba Minteh and Ismaila Sarr.

Gakpo missed training with Liverpool on Monday morning in preparation for the potential move to City, but by the afternoon it had emerged Liverpool would not be pursuing moves for either Minteh or Sarr, and decided to keep Gakpo after all.

By Monday afternoon, it had emerged that Liverpool would not be pursuing moves for either player and had decided to keep Gakpo after all.

Manchester City had hoped to add Cody Gakpo to their attacking options (Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Within hours, City had rejoined the race for Ndiaye and by the evening, they had reached an agreement in principle with Everton worth £65m. City’s first choice appeared to be Gakpo, although Ndiaye had been scouted thoroughly, and their ability to resume talks with his camp quickly ensured they could strengthen the forward line — something they absolutely had to do.

With a deal agreed swiftly on Monday evening, a medical was arranged for Tuesday and the move was completed at 9pm on Tuesday.

It all means that the Anderson deal, announced on July 2, feels like s a long time ago. City also signed 17-year-old winger Jeremy Monga for £10m from Leicester City nine days later, though he was made available for loan following the pre-season tour of Asia and has joined Swansea City. Geronimo Rulli, the 34-year-old goalkeeper, rejoined the club from Marseille on August 12 to replace Trafford.

City moved early this year by signing Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi in January, but had to act decisively this summer after losing Guardiola, Bernardo Silva and Rodri.

Rodri’s potential exit came up during negotiations with Forest for Anderson, as City became increasingly aware that he would not sign a new deal. Sandro Tonali and Adam Wharton were considered as options alongside Anderson and Bouaddi, but Fernandez was the player City were most determined to sign.

He divides opinion, but Maresca is convinced Fernandez is ideal for his team, which looks completely different to how it did in May. Fernandez’s arrival was confirmed publicly at 11.30pm on Tuesday, drawing one of City’s busiest windows to a close.