Manchester City Lure Enzo Fernandez Away From Chelsea In Blockbuster £125m Deal As EPL Clubs Set New Spending Record

Manchester City made the largest transfer of the summer transfer window when they acquired Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez from rivals Chelsea for a British record of £125 million ($169 million), marking the end of an amazing spending spree by English clubs.

Fernandez’s record transfer was completed in the last hours of the window on Tuesday as Premier League clubs raised their summer spending to unprecedented figures of $4.7 billion.

Figures indicated the financial power of English football with the top 20 Premier League clubs spending considerably more than their rivals in other European leagues.

With the signing of Fernandez, Manchester City’s summer spending on new players exceeded $600 million.

Moreover, the acquisition of Fernandez was the last major part of a huge midfield rebuilding undertaken under the newly appointed manager Enzo Maresca, following the end of the Pep Guardiola era.

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Fernandez Completes City's Midfield Overhaul

Fernandez has become one of the most expensive players in football history after making the switch from Stamford Bridge to the Etihad Stadium.

The Argentina international has not started a match since being sent off against Spain in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final in July. Nevertheless, City moved decisively for the 25-year-old, who had established himself as one of Chelsea's most important midfielders since arriving from Benfica in January 2023.

Fernandez originally joined Chelsea for £106.7 million ($131.4 million), which was then a British transfer record. City have now paid an even higher fee to bring him across the Premier League.

City director of football Hugo Viana praised Fernandez's all-round qualities after completing the deal.

“He is a complete midfielder: technically gifted, hardworking, tenacious and a goalscorer,” Viana said.

The Argentine's arrival forms part of City's extraordinary $440 million investment in midfield this summer.

England international Elliot Anderson and Morocco's Ayyoub Bouaddi have also joined the club in expensive deals, while Senegal winger Iliman Ndiaye arrived from Everton on deadline day for an initial $81 million.

City Spend More Than $600 Million

Manchester City's spending has been one of the defining stories of the summer transfer window.

The club's total expenditure has surpassed $600 million, making it the biggest single-window spending spree in its history. At the same time, City have recouped close to $400 million through player sales.

Among the high-profile departures were Spain's World Cup-winning captain Rodri and experienced midfielder Bernardo Silva. Jack Grealish also left the club on another season-long loan, joining Everton.

The scale of City's activity reflects the beginning of a new era at the Etihad, with Maresca overseeing a substantial restructuring of the squad.

Fernandez's £125 million transfer fee is a joint British record. He is level with Alexander Isak, who joined Liverpool for the same fee last year.

According to Transfermarkt, Fernandez is also tied for fourth on the all-time list of the world's most expensive transfers, behind Neymar's €222 million move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain, Kylian Mbappe's €180 million transfer from Monaco to PSG and Ousmane Dembele's €148 million switch from Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona.

Premier League Clubs Dominate Spending

English Premier League teams have invested near $4.7 billion together, which exceeds the total amount spent by the clubs in the other four major leagues in Europe.

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When including the spending of clubs in Spain, Italy, Germany, and France, the total is around $3.8 billion.

Of the leagues mentioned, Italy is the second on the chart, having accessed $1.34 billion for international player transfers.

Additionally, with the recent modifications to the rules governing finances in Premier League, clubs with bigger revenues are required to invest more than they used to.

Previously, £3.14 billion ($4.25 billion) was spent by the clubs in England in one window, but now, this number is already broken.