Early doubts over Manchester City’s ability to chase the Premier League crown in its first era without Pep Guardiola have rapidly faded, following two opening-match wins and a historic $400 million spending spree compressed into just two weeks of the summer transfer window. By the close of the window, City ended up as Europe’s biggest single summer spender, with total outlay across the entire transfer period surging past $600 million. The club wrapped up its buying blitz with deadline-day additions of Enzo Fernandez and Iliman Ndiaye, and added two more high-profile young talents just days earlier: Morocco international midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi and Brazilian winger Allan, who cost a combined $160 million, primarily brought in as depth for the first-team squad. This unprecedented spending has transformed first-year manager Enzo Maresca’s situation entirely; just a few weeks ago, he was forced to improvise by fielding center back Marc Guehi in central midfield, after City sold or released a core group of midfield stars including Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Tijjani Reijnders without immediate replacements. Now, Maresca faces the far more welcome problem of selection depth as City prepares to host newly promoted Coventry this Saturday. He will have to choose two from Elliot Anderson, Fernandez and Bouaddi to slot behind in-form attacking playmaker Rayan Cherki, while Ndiaye and Allan will push established first-team wingers Phil Foden, Antoine Semenyo and Jeremy Doku for starting spots. The challenge could not be starker for Coventry: the promoted side already traveled to the Emirates to face Arsenal earlier this season, and escaped with only a 3-0 defeat, a result many considered a favorable outcome for the newly promoted side. City has enjoyed a strong start to the campaign regardless, opening with a 2-1 victory over Bournemouth before securing a 4-1 away win against Crystal Palace. While pundits once argued the first two weeks of the season represented the best window to take points off a rebuild City with an incomplete squad, a new manager still settling into the role and players undercooked after post-World Cup rest, the club has still posted maximum points — even after a tepid 3-0 Community Shield loss to Arsenal that left many fans and analysts questioning City’s title credentials. From this weekend onward, analysts and fans will get their first real look at how Maresca’s fully refurbished side can compete over the long haul of the season. This weekend’s fixture list brings a number of mouthwatering matchups beyond City’s game with Coventry. The standout tie of the round sees defending Premier League champions Arsenal host Chelsea on Sunday, with both sides entering the game on maximum six points from their first two matches. Arsenal has started the season with a typically solid defensive foundation, holding opponents scoreless through two games, while Chelsea has jumped out to an early lead as the league’s joint-top scoring side with seven goals, setting up a compelling clash of contrasting early-season form. Outside of Manchester City, newly promoted Hull City is the only other side in the division to win both of its opening two matches, and it will host a point-less Aston Villa side looking for its first win of the campaign. Liverpool, meanwhile, will look to snap a run of two opening draws when it travels to face newly promoted Ipswich Town on Friday evening. The weekend will also offer supporters the first chance to see some of the window’s most high-profile signings make their debuts for new clubs. Most notable among these is Bradley Barcola, the French winger who joined Liverpool from Paris Saint-Germain for $166 million. Barcola did not make a single appearance for PSG at the start of this season amid prolonged transfer speculation, and he could make his first Liverpool appearance off the bench this weekend. Jack Grealish, who has returned to Everton on loan after several seasons at City, could also be thrown straight into action for his new side when Everton hosts Manchester United, with Ndiaye having departed the Merseyside club in this window. Off the pitch, this weekend will also bring expected protests from Everton fans, who are furious with the American ownership’s transfer window strategy. The club allowed its top attacker Ndiaye to depart for Manchester City, and also sold backup striker Beto, and failed to sign any replacements to fill the gaps left by those departures. Deadline-day moves for Folarin Balogun and Joshua Zirkzee fell through, leaving Everton with just one senior striker on the books: Thierno Barry. Everton’s independent fan advisory board released a public statement highlighting the “serious concerns” held by supporters over the club’s transfer management, arguing the current squad is weaker than it was at the start of the previous season. “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 fan group said. “Supporters deserve clarity, accountability and evidence that lessons have been learned before further trust can be rebuilt.” The Texas-based Friedkin Group is currently heading into its second full season as the club’s majority owner.
It’s time to really start judging Maresca and new-look Man City after $600M refresh
