On August 23rd, Beijing time, The Athletic's Manchester City beat reporter Sam Lee published a column offering an in-depth analysis of Manchester City's upcoming transfer window plans.

Column Article

Enzo Maresca had anticipated this question. When someone mentioned Rodri as arguably the best player in his position in world football today, the new Manchester City manager interrupted with a smile.

"So, how do we solve this problem?"

After the questioner finished, he gave an answer that initially sounded like a joke but was actually incredibly serious.

"Try to find a new Rodri."

Perhaps this sentence best summarizes the heavy responsibility on Maresca's shoulders. Or, as he said at Friday's pre-match press conference: "Our goal is to continue the glory of the past 10 to 15 years."

To find a new Rodri – the World Cup Golden Ball winner, the best midfielder in world football today; to continue the winning rhythm under Mancini, Pellegrini, and especially Guardiola, who led Manchester City to 26 trophies: these two goals seemed particularly challenging on the day of Manchester City's new season opener against Bournemouth.

The past week had been flooded with news of player departures. Last Sunday, Manchester City officially announced an agreement with Barcelona for Rodri's transfer, with the total value potentially reaching £65.3 million. Just hours earlier, Manchester City had lost 3-0 to Arsenal in the Community Shield. Fans and media had expected new signings this week, but instead Reijnders transferred to Al-Hilal for £51 million. The Athletic then reported that Nico Gonzalez might join Newcastle United, Savinho was being pursued by Tottenham Hotspur, and Omar Marmoush might also leave.

Manchester City had signed Elliot Anderson for a club-record £116 million during the summer, but progress on subsequent signings has been slow. The club has been trying to sign Youssouf Bouaddi and Enzo Fernández to strengthen the midfield with little progress; they also inquired about Adam Wharton's situation, but Crystal Palace showed no willingness to sell.

The only player who seemed close to being signed last week was Palmeiras winger Alan Elias. Signing this 22-year-old Brazilian, who has performed inconsistently in the Brazilian league and has never been selected for any Brazilian national team age group, hardly aroused fan expectations.

Maresca stated that the club has a plan behind the scenes, but many clearly find this difficult to understand.

In the current situation, the phrase "find a new Rodri" might seem unbelievable, but Maresca has given it deep thought. He discussed this topic while having coffee in Korea – at the time, he couldn't reveal the inside information he already knew: the Spanish midfielder had no intention of staying this season – but he emphasized that Manchester City has always been able to renew its squad even with key players leaving.

"It is what it is," he said. "When Rodri first came, he hadn't won the Golden Ball, the Champions League, or the Club World Cup. He only achieved these important honors after joining."

"Now our goal is to find a new Rodri. Last night I was thinking: when David Silva left, everyone was worried, and then Kevin De Bruyne came; when Agüero left, everyone was equally worried, and then Erling Haaland joined; after Fernandinho left, Rodri came. It's this cycle."

"Key players leave, you have to make signings and find the next successor. These players are all similar: David, Kevin, Fernandinho, Rodri, Agüero, Haaland. There was another one I thought of last night but forgot now, but the principle is the same."

"This is normal; it's just squad rotation, not a problem."

Maresca admitted that Manchester City's summer transfer window has become complicated due to several players insisting on leaving. By the time the transfer window closes on September 1st, this could very likely be Manchester City's busiest summer in recent years. Although anticipated, the successive player departures coupled with little news of new signings have left fans worried throughout the week about squad gaps and whether the team can continue its glory in the "post-Guardiola era."

"There are still 10 days; I hope we can complete the signings we need," Maresca urged fans to be patient on Friday. "Some players want to leave for various reasons, and this will certainly have an impact, but we must adapt. Of course, we don't want to force players who don't want to stay."

"I think all clubs and fans face similar situations. Everyone is waiting for transfer news. It's common in transfer windows to wait until the last week, because all clubs try to keep players until the last moment to get a higher price. This is normal. Once the transfer window closes and the squad is complete, everything will definitely be different."

From a selling perspective, Manchester City's summer window has been excellent. They sold several underperforming players and made substantial profits. The 22-year-old Savinho still has potential and excellent dribbling skills, but his finishing needs urgent improvement – to sell him for at least £75 million is truly remarkable.

Reijnders might have improved had he stayed another season, but selling a player who felt undervalued and often struggled to perform last season for £51 million is also a good deal. If Nico Gonzalez and Marmoush can leave for close to Manchester City's initial purchase price, that would also be a good deal.

But the concerning part is that these players were all signed within the last two years. In fact, except for Savinho, all the others joined within the last 18 months. While it's commendable to recoup high prices for underperforming players, these were originally considered an important part of the team's rebuilding, which makes it hard to believe that a "new Rodri" will soon emerge from Manchester City's transfer pipeline.

Manchester City's entire summer window operations can only be definitively judged after it closes, and the club believes they can sign the players they need. But with Rodri and Bernardo Silva departing and few new signings so far, the team's midfield has a huge gap at the start of the new season. Even with Guardiola still in charge, this would not be ideal, let alone with a new manager taking over a group of players already accustomed to the former manager's coaching style.

"When you work with the same person every day and then suddenly someone new comes in, everything changes," Maresca said. "It's like I'm an actor who's worked with the same director for 10 years making movies – then suddenly the director changes, and as an actor, my way of thinking will still be stuck in the mode of working with the previous director."

"But now the director has changed, and I have to adapt. It's complex and not easy. So I say this is the realistic context – not an excuse – but it does take some time. But we must get into competitive shape as soon as possible."

Manchester City has already sold many players, and more may leave, so the club must act in the transfer market. As Maresca said, other teams will demand exorbitant prices, not only because the transfer window is nearing its end but also because the opponent is Manchester City – especially since Manchester City has already made a substantial sum from sales.

This means they either overpay for their desired targets, settle for cheaper alternatives, or wait patiently for the price of their preferred players to drop, but this would mean the team starts the new season with an incomplete squad.

The task is so daunting that the pressure on Maresca is immense, and this is clearly not ideal preparation for the start of the new season. But from another perspective, already burdened with the pressure of succeeding Guardiola, Manchester City may need weeks or even months to find their best form.

If waiting until after the season starts to sign their truly desired players at a fair price is a wise trade-off, then the operations in the final days of the transfer window must be executed strictly according to plan.

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