According to The Athletic, with the addition of Enzo Fernández and Ayoub Bouaddi, Manchester City's midfield options have increased substantially, and manager Pep Guardiola believes having multiple options is crucial for a long season.

Manchester City's midfield suddenly appears heavily stocked, with some fans feeling options are excessive. However, for a demanding long season, having sufficient depth is clearly necessary—something Guardiola has been calling for throughout the summer.

When asked whether he was satisfied with his midfield options after the transfer window closed, Guardiola said: "Absolutely. If you look at the situation after the Community Shield—we played that match, Arsenal played two more—they changed five players in each game: two World Cup winners, Merino and Súmudí; two English players, Isak and Maddison; and another player, I believe Inkapi. Ultimately, if you want to compete, you need sufficient options. Arsenal has them, we have them, and other teams do too. I'm very satisfied with our current player options, and if we want to compete, that's crucial for us."

Recall that two weeks ago, the situation looked entirely different. Manchester City made several excellent sales, but that meant finding replacements and facing substantial transfer requests from rival clubs—requests they can no longer easily reject as they did in the past.

This is partly why Manchester City spent £125 million to sign Enzo Fernández. Guardiola had been keen to work with this player during Fernández's time at Chelsea, and Manchester City navigated a lengthy, complex negotiation, pushing the deal through to deadline day.

Throughout the summer, Manchester City tried to convince Lille to sell Ayoub Bouaddi outright rather than send him on loan, contingent on the French club's willingness to do so.

Losing both Pep Guardiola and two key players like Rodri and Bernardo Silva in the same summer means Manchester City faces direct consequences from squad turnover. However, the arrivals of Enzo Fernández, Ayoub Bouaddi, and Elliott Anderson should certainly mitigate this impact.

Two weeks ago, amid considerable uncertainty in the late stages of Manchester City's transfer window, Guardiola said: "Our goal now is to try to find a new Rodri."

Among the three new midfielders, Ayoub Bouaddi's style seems most suited to this role. However, at just 18 and from Ligue 1, he may be least ready to immediately feature for Manchester City's senior team.

Guardiola said: "He doesn't look 18. He looks like a more experienced player. That's important, but in his case, we need to take it gradually because he's young and comes from a different country."

Elliott Anderson joined from Nottingham Forest for £116 million before the World Cup, and now Enzo Fernández has arrived. Both have reputations for different strengths: they're midfielders with good coverage, play energetic box-to-box football, and can do nearly everything.

This is clearly not a "new Rodri." Rodri sits in midfield, controlling the game's tempo, and particularly since Enzo Fernández arrived in England, his defensive decision-making appears diminished. Guardiola has refrained from identifying which midfielder he wants as his destroyer, and describing both new signings similarly may compound the issue.

On the need to find a new Rodri, Guardiola said: "If you have a very good number 6 defensive midfielder, that's enough. But if you have versatile players who can play in different positions, that's even better."

Last season at Nottingham Forest, Anderson had the most touches in the Premier League, partly due to his free movement, allowing involvement throughout the pitch. Against Coventry City on Saturday, Anderson completed 146 passes—more than any other player in a single Premier League match since the start of last season—and Manchester City's highest single-game total since Rodri faced Sheffield United in December 2023.

Guardiola said before the season began: "He's a defensive midfielder who can also play as an attacking midfielder. The best thing about Elliott is, first, he's young, so you can work with him, help him develop, and turn him into a number 6 or a number 8 who can get into the box. At Nottingham Forest, he played alongside Bissouma, and for England, he played with Rice, so he was surrounded by physically strong players. But I think there are games where he doesn't need physically strong players around him—it depends on the tactics and the opponent."

Enzo Fernández joined Chelsea after helping Argentina win the 2022 World Cup. At the time, he excelled at orchestrating attacks from deep and intercepting opponents' play. However, since leaving Stamford Bridge, he's become a player who frequently ventures into the box, and his occasional lapses in defensive focus have disappointed fans.

Guardiola said on Friday: "When he worked with me at Chelsea, he often scored by attacking from midfield, so it depends on the specific situation. We'll play him in different positions."

This sounds overly flexible, as if no one owns controlling the midfield, but according to sources close to Guardiola who spoke anonymously to protect working relationships, Guardiola plans to use Anderson as his number 6 defensive midfielder—the deep playmaking hub responsible for possession and rapid coverage when Manchester City loses the ball.

This plan is no longer secret, becoming increasingly clear in matches, particularly Saturday's win over Coventry City, where Anderson was outstanding in securing a hard-fought 1-0 victory.

After the match, Guardiola said: "I was very impressed with his play—not just today. I think he played well against Crystal Palace and performed well against Bournemouth. He'd only trained with us a week at that point and was substituted due to cramp. The best thing about Elliott is his daily dedication. He asks how he can learn. We talk to him, do one-on-one video analysis, work with him extensively. He wants to develop, which is the most important thing for every player."

On Saturday, Anderson stood out and was named Man of the Match—a moment easily recalled how Rodri felt. Eighteen months ago, Guardiola mistakenly called Nico González the "new Rodri" after his debut against Newcastle United, but things didn't go as planned. Caution is always warranted with such high praise, especially since Manchester City didn't fully control the Coventry game late on.

However, Anderson's potential to develop into Manchester City's leading midfielder is genuine, possibly similar to Fernandinho's trajectory when he joined as a more attacking midfielder and gradually adapted to a deeper role. With Anderson now potentially positioned deeper, Guardiola's broader midfield setup becomes clearer too.

This versatility also means that once the midfield core is established, Guardiola has multiple ways to adjust his lineup.

Enzo Fernández has played in an unconventional right-center position; Anderson has played there against Arsenal, and Nico O'Reilly played there last week against Crystal Palace, allowing Mateo Kovačić to operate higher as an attacking playmaker.

Admittedly, Enzo Fernández's arrival hasn't excited all Manchester City fans, partly because, as the club's most expensive signing and the manager's clear choice, he's easily seen as occupying the attacking midfield spot that Mateo Kovačić prefers.

Another question mark is Phil Foden's role. Phil Foden replaced Mateo Kovačić in the 66th minute but had noticeably less impact. Kovačić receives from Anderson and defense, moves around the pitch, or threads subtle passes to Erling Haaland. In contrast, Foden struggled to impose himself on the game.

Competition for places is inevitable. Those concerned should remember that two weeks ago, Guardiola chose Cristian Guehi over Mateo Kovačić in midfield.

That already feels like ages ago.

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