The summer transfer window has shown how far United are behind their biggest rivals
CARDIFF, WALES - AUGUST 16: Elliot Anderson of Manchester City during the 2026 FA Community Shield match between Arsenal and Manchester City at Principality Stadium on August 16, 2026 in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Elliot Anderson moved to Manchester in a £116m move in June (Photo: Getty)
Losing a luminary of Pep Guardiola’s magnitude always felt like Manchester City needed to do something seismic to remain anything like the behemoth they have become.
Enzo Maresca’s appointment barely registered on the Richter Scale. The former Chelsea boss and City assistant coach was the continuity option, knowing exactly how the City Football Group likes to conduct itself.
The transfer market kings instead chose to make their mark in the area they excel in most.
With a net spend lower than Ipswich Town’s, City have completely revamped the one area of the pitch that needed open heart surgery, emerging from the summer window primed and ready to push Arsenal all the way again this season.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 23: Manchester City Manager Enzo Maresca during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Manchester City and AFC Bournemouth at Etihad Stadium on August 23, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Shaun Brooks - CameraSport via Getty Images)
Enzo Maresca has been armed with a squad capable of winning the title (Photo: Getty)
Making bitter rivals Manchester United’s attempts to overhaul the same midfield department pale in comparison was simply the cherry on the cake of a near-perfect few months.
As City have picked off the best Premier League talent out there, questions over the viability of their £400m outlay persist when 115 charges for financial misconduct linger in the air like a bad smell.
The fact it has not put off a single signing, most of whom had other options, remains a damning indictment of the Premier League’s case, and tells us all we need to know about the chances of getting a verdict anytime soon.
Free to operate as they wanted, few can compete with the unfathomable efficiency with how City get things done. Given all the upheaval – pivotal players following Guardiola out the door – the club feel the squad is as strong as it has been in many years as a result of unwavering adherence to their near-flawless strategy.
There were doubts that director of football Hugo Viana would be a match for his predecessor Txiki Begiristain in the transfer market. Instead, sources who have dealt with Viana this summer have been impressed with how the former Newcastle United midfielder pushed deals through, insisting the changing of the guard has been “remarkably seamless”.
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 24: Enzo Fernandez of Chelsea before the Premier League 2026/27 match between Fulham and Chelsea FC at Craven Cottage on August 24, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Pedro Porru/MB Media/Getty Images)
Enzo Fernandez followed his old boss to the Etihad in a late twist (Photo: Getty)
It has been clear for some time that Enzo Fernandez wanted to leave Stamford Bridge for the Etihad. Yet City bided their time, even as Chelsea insisted on a cut-off for bids two weeks ago, before getting their man on deadline day.
While the £125m fee equalled the British transfer record, the Blues did look like they would not budge from their £135m price tag as late as Monday night. After all, they did not need to sell having generated record player sale revenues themselves.
Senior City figures, however, never for one second doubted the deal would get done, on their terms.
And any overpayment for Fernandez or Elliot Anderson – United baulked at Nottingham Forest’s asking price for their top target – could be compensated by selling another unwanted peripheral player for more than their market value.
While United once again struggled to make much from expendable stars or academy graduates, City have brought in £320m in player sales in one window, essentially giving them license to spend what they wish.
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 29: Omar Marmoush of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on August 29, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Omar Marmoush’s transfer to Tottenham represents a masterclass in negotiation (Photo: Getty)
How City sold Omar Marmoush, Tijjani Reijnders or Nico Gonzalez is the perfect microcosm for the difference in efficiency between how City and United have operated in the transfer market in recent years.
All three could easily have been a success at City, given more time. Nonetheless, there is just as much chance of either failing to live up to the billing. After one season in England, with their market value still high, City have cut their losses and raked in over £150m for players who have not moved the dial in Manchester.
What United would have done is hang on for too long, where one more season of flattering to deceive depreciates a player’s worth in the market.
Rodri fancied a new challenge, which ordinarily would signal catastrophe for a team so dependent on one of the Premier League’s most influential figures in its history.
City, the succession-planning wizards that they are, already had their replacement, Ayyoub Bouaddi, with a pen in his hand – a player the club had been eyeing long before the teenager’s impressive World Cup campaign. Preparing for every eventuality, well in advance, is their modus operandi.
Read more
While the discontent over an underwhelming midfield revamp across the city is bordering on mutinous, City once again continue to provide the benchmark for how to operate in the transfer market.
When Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos took control of football matters at Old Trafford, they made no secret of admitting that it is the City blueprint they want to replicate.
This summer has shown just how far United remain behind their greatest foes, on and off the pitch.
Kevin Garside