THE last time Elliot Anderson and Enzo Fernandez shared the same pitch, the Argentine was clumping the England midfielder to the ground just minutes into the World Cup semi-final.
Fernandez got away with the outrageous act of violent conduct, twisting the knife with the equaliser before England’s eventual heartache.
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And Manchester City have now splashed out £241MILLION to pair them as the midfield partnership to bring the title back to the Etihad.
Yet what took place under the Mercedes-Benz Stadium roof on July 15 will not be easily forgotten, by Anderson or City pal Nico O’Reilly.
It will surely have to be addressed in Enzo Maresca’s dressing room to ensure the squad is focused in one direction, victory on the pitch.
Fernandez’s deadline-day signing, for a British record-equalling £125m brought City’s total spending since January 2025 to a staggering £910m.
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This summer was a clear statement to show the club is bigger than any manager, even their greatest ever.
City believe Maresca has the tools he needs to fight for trophies — a replenished and hungry squad to prove the end of the Pep Guardiola era is the start of a new winning chapter.
But the Italian boss must first hope his two midfield kingpins can bury the hatchet — and that what happened in Atlanta, stays in Atlanta.
Anderson was City’s No 1 target in what is internally being dubbed a “transformation” more than a rebuild.
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A new team, for a new manager. Started under the old one — when City began to accept the Guardiola era was about to end.
In May 2025, ahead of the Club World Cup, City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarek conceded the club had dropped the ball the previous year.
The final four-part documentary covering Guardiola’s last two seasons, released last month, saw Khaldoon describing City as a “machine built to win, built for success”, adding, “it works if we keep winning”.
But he accepted there had been too much loyalty, “driven” by Guardiola, to City’s greatest generation of talents, warning that making poor decisions can lead to “full meltdown”. Now the club is determined to ensure that will never happen again.
Phil Foden’s Instagram post yesterday showed him as the only survivor of the squad picture ahead of the 2019-20 season — a signal of the sheer turnover at the club.
Fernandez’s arrival came exactly 18 years after City’s new Abu Dhabi ownership marked their ascension with the £32.5m signing of Real Madrid’s Brazilian Robinho.
Not even the most optimistic City fan could have envisaged what would come in less than two decades — 22 major pots, eight of them Prem titles.
Rival fans continue to point to the elephant in the room — or the 130 of them, as City and the Premier League still await the verdict of the Independent Commission judging on the refuted allegations of financial impropriety — but Etihad decision-makers seem utterly unfussed.
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Completing an epic restructuring of their squad is part of that.
Deadline-day deals for Fernandez from Chelsea and Iliman Ndiaye from Everton completed a remarkable 18 months of activity, although City have recouped near half the outlay on sales.
That included making profits on FOUR of the players they bought in that time — James Trafford, Nico Gonzalez, Tijjani Reijnders and, by next summer, Omar Marmoush.
What is stark is the scale of the project as well as the club’s ambition.
A whole new midfield this summer, with Fernandez hot on the heels of Moroccan 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi — viewed as a world-class prospect — coming from Lille last week and the £116m Anderson capture.
Club chiefs are confident City are in the best place they have been since winning the Prem in 2024.
City feel that, but for Rodri’s move to Barcelona, they have mainly lost “fringe” players but acquired the core of the squad that will become mainstays for the next few years.
Concerns about the potential overall inexperience did lead to the two late additions, with both Fernandez and Ndiaye proven Prem performers.
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The Argentine is expected to bring goals and assists from midfield.
But the overhaul started in January, with arrivals of Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi, who had initially been on the summer wish list.
Their success and seamless transitions added to the club’s calmness over squad-building, replacing wantaway stars with a new generation.
Brazilian Vitor Reis has returned from his year on loan at sister club Girona as a potential starter — making up for the departures of John Stones and Nathan Ake — while O’Reilly’s versatility will be a key asset.
Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden are Maresca’s main options in the No 10 role although Ndiaye can also play there as well as out wide, where he adds to Jeremy Doku, Semenyo and new Brazilian Allan.
Semenyo is also seen as Erling Haaland’s back-up — one area where the City fans might have doubts.
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The boardroom expectation is that Maresca has enough depth to be able to challenge on all fronts.
If Anderson and Fernandez can park any remaining issues, clear the air and move on, they may be right.