Manchester City’s Strong Start After Summer Spending Spree
Manchester City’s post-Pep wobble might already be over.
Two wins to start the season. More than $600 million spent in one summer. Around $400 million of that blown in a dizzying two-week burst. Any early doubts about their ability to go toe-to-toe with Arsenal for the Premier League title suddenly feel outdated.
City have outspent everyone in Europe in this window, and they finished it with a flourish. Enzo Fernandez and Iliman Ndiaye arrived on deadline day to push the total outlay past that $600 million mark, the kind of figure that reshapes a squad and a season in one go.
And they weren’t even the headline acts a few days earlier. Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi and Brazilian winger Allan came in for a combined $160 million, effectively as backups. At most clubs, those are marquee signings. At City, they’re depth pieces.
Maresca’s selection headache
Enzo Maresca began this new era short-handed in the one area you never want to be light: central midfield. City had moved on or released Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Tijjani Reijnders without landing immediate replacements. The solution? Marc Guehi, a center back by trade, pressed into service in the middle of the pitch.
That emergency fix is already obsolete.
Now Maresca has to choose two from Elliot Anderson, Fernandez and Bouaddi to sit behind the in-form Rayan Cherki, who has started the season as City’s creative hub. On the flanks, Ndiaye and Allan arrive to jostle with Phil Foden, Antoine Semenyo and Jeremy Doku. What was a bare cupboard a month ago is suddenly overflowing.
Coventry arrive at the Etihad at the wrong time. Promoted, still adjusting, and already bruised by a trip to Arsenal that ended in a 3-0 defeat which flattered them. They were fortunate to escape with just that.
City, by contrast, look like they’ve played themselves through their awkward phase. A 2-1 win over Bournemouth and a 4-1 victory at Crystal Palace have them rolling into the weekend. If there was a good time to catch them — new manager, incomplete squad, players short of fitness after the World Cup, and that flat 3-0 Community Shield loss to Arsenal — it was probably the opening fortnight.
That window has slammed shut. From this weekend on, the real judgement of Maresca and his remodelled side begins.
Arsenal v Chelsea: something has to give
The standout fixture of the round belongs to the champions. Arsenal host Chelsea on Sunday in a meeting of two of the four teams with maximum points after two games.
Arsenal have picked up where they left off defensively. Two games, no goals conceded, the same ruthless control without the ball that powered last season’s title run. Chelsea bring a different kind of threat: they share top spot in the scoring charts with seven goals. Attack versus defence, both in rhythm. One of them will crack.
Elsewhere, promoted Hull have matched City with two wins from two and now welcome Aston Villa, who sit on zero points and already feel under pressure.
Liverpool, stuck on back-to-back draws, open the round on Friday away at promoted Ipswich. For a club of their size, two points from six is already uncomfortable. They need a win.
Debuts and returns to watch
This weekend also offers a first real glimpse of some of the window’s biggest moves.
Bradley Barcola could finally pull on a Liverpool shirt after his $166 million move from Paris Saint-Germain. He didn’t play a single minute for PSG this season as his future hung in the balance; now he steps into a side that badly needs a spark in the final third. Expect him to start on the bench, but if the game tightens, Jürgen Klopp may not wait long.
Jack Grealish is back at Everton on loan and could be dropped straight into the firing line against Manchester United. Ndiaye’s departure has stripped Everton of their best attacker; Grealish is being asked to fill a very large hole very quickly.
Everton anger brewing
The real storm around Everton, though, is off the pitch.
Supporters are furious with a summer that saw Ndiaye sold and backup striker Beto also leave, with no replacement signed. Late pushes for Folarin Balogun and Joshua Zirkzee failed. The result? One senior striker in the squad: Thierno Barry.
The club’s fan advisory board issued a stark statement capturing what many in the stands feel — that the squad is weaker now than at the start of the window and that faith in the hierarchy has eroded.
“The gap between ambition and execution is now impossible to ignore, and it has damaged confidence in the planning, leadership and alignment of football operations,” the group said. “Supporters deserve clarity, accountability and evidence that lessons have been learned before further trust can be rebuilt.”
The Texas-based Friedkin Group heads into its second full season as Everton’s owner with that warning ringing in its ears.
At the top end of the table, City and Arsenal look ready to trade blows again. At Goodison Park, the battle is just to convince fans their club still has a plan.
