Man City spend heavily on new midfield, but have they overlooked Haaland cover?

Manchester City have rebuilt their midfield at a record cost, yet the biggest weakness in the new-look squad may be the position occupied by its most important striker. The club spent £458 million in the summer window, but questions remain over whether it has a replacement for Erling Haaland.

New manager Enzo Maresca received strong backing from director of football Hugo Viana in his first transfer window after replacing Pep Guardiola. City twice broke their transfer record, paying £125 million for Maresca’s former Chelsea captain Enzo Fernández and £116 million for Elliot Anderson of Nottingham Forest. Morocco international Ayyoub Bouaddi, 18, arrived for £86 million.

The midfield changed completely with the departures of captain Bernardo Silva, 2024 Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, Tijjani Reijnders and Nico González. City also moved earlier to secure longer-term targets Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guéhi. Only four players remain from the starting lineup and substitutes involved in the 2023 Champions League final victory over Inter Milan in Istanbul.

City believe the squad now offers two established players in almost every position and is stronger than it was at the start of last season. The club’s transfer policy also brought in substantial sales revenue. Since the start of the year, City have spent £542 million and recouped £334 million, including £75 million for Savinho, £65 million for Rodri and £52 million for Reijnders. That leaves a reported 2026 net spend of £208 million, before Tottenham’s obligation to buy Omar Marmoush for £60 million next season.

The club replaced almost every departure except Nico González and Marmoush. With left-back well covered, City expect Nico O’Reilly to spend more time in midfield. Even so, the central questions remain: how will the new midfielders fit together, and did the scale of the overhaul leave Maresca without sufficient cover for Haaland?