Enzo Maresca has discussed the contrast in Manchester City's midfield rebuild expenditure and that of Manchester United ahead of Sunday's derby at Old Trafford.
Elliot Anderson joined Manchester City from Nottingham Forest for £116M in June.
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The summer transfer window brought three new central midfielders to the Etihad Stadium, transforming the engine room of a squad that had been built around Rodri for seven seasons.
Ayyoub Bouaddi arrived from Lille for €100 million, Enzo Fernandez joined from Chelsea for a British record-equalling £125 million and Elliot Anderson came from Nottingham Forest for £116 million in July.
The three arrive against the departures of Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Tijjani Reijnders and Nico Gonzalez - and represent Manchester City's most significant midfield overhaul since Guardiola arrived at the club a decade ago.
Between them, Bouaddi, Fernandez and Anderson cost in the region of £325 million, a figure that drew inevitable comparison with United's own summer midfield spending.
Fernandez, the 25-year-old Argentina FIFA World Cup winner, has started each of City's four competitive fixtures since his deadline day arrival, with his assist for Erling Haaland's opener against Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday night already providing the clearest demonstration of what he brings to the side.
Anderson, who signed first and has played the most minutes of the three, completed his 300th minutes in a City shirt across Tuesday's win at the Estádio do Dragão.
His contribution in the opening weeks of the season, highlighted by Maresca's post-Coventry praise of his day-to-day work ethic and willingness to sit through individual video sessions, has set a standard for the others to match.
The trio are expected to rotate across the Manchester derby, with Maresca having already demonstrated his readiness to mix and match the three in response to opponents and fixture schedules.
Manchester City prepare face their fate as they make the short trip to Stretford to face rivals Manchester United in the 199th Manchester derby on Sunday.cityxtra.co.ukPredicted Starting XI: Man United vs Man City (Premier League)
Manchester City prepare face their fate as they make the short trip to Stretford to face rivals Manchester United in the 199th Manchester derby on Sunday.
Maresca on New-Look Man City Midfield: They are Working Well
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday, Maresca gave his assessment of how the three midfielders are building their understanding of each other.
"Very good. It's the day by day that defines the relation between them," the Italian said. "They are working well. We saw the other day, starting with Ayyoub and Enzo, the game before starting Enzo and Elliot started.
"It's important that when we decide which player is going to start, they are ready and then, if we need them from the bench, they are going to be ready."
Asked whether Fernandez is the senior figure of the three, Maresca added: "Absolutely, yes," underpinning the immediate sense of responsibility the Manchester City manager is confident in Fernandez to shoulder, with it being the midfielder's first few weeks in the north-west.
I Don't Pay Much Attention to the Price, Says Maresca in Rebuttal of Man United Spending Comparisons
On the subject of Manchester City spending roughly twice as much on three midfielders as Manchester United did across the whole of their summer window, Maresca said: "I think we needed midfielders. I don't pay much attention about the price because I don't pay the money.
"It's more about good players. I think the ones that arrived here and joined us and joined Man United, they are all top players. This is the most important thing.
"Then, how much the club paid for them, I already said, I don't think it's correct to judge players based on how much we paid because the market is now crazy."
City face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday evening, with four wins from four in all competitions since the start of the season, as the Blues sitting at the top of the Premier League.