Man City players lobbied Maresca for Enzo Fernandez before deadline-day transfer

Manchester City's players did not just wait to see whether Enzo Fernandez would arrive on deadline day, they actively pushed their manager for updates. Enzo Maresca has revealed that four or five members of his squad repeatedly asked him in the closing days of the window whether the £125m deal for the Argentina midfielder was going to happen, a detail that speaks louder than any transfer statement about how badly City's dressing room wanted him Maresca told BBC Sport.

Fernandez completed his move from Chelsea for a joint-British-record fee and is now, according to Maresca, "ready" to make his City debut against newly promoted Coventry City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. For a club that has just spent a record sum rebuilding its midfield, the revelation that senior players were personally invested in getting the deal done is a rare and telling insight into squad culture under a new head coach.

Why City's dressing room wanted Fernandez

Maresca's account of the final days of the window paints a picture of a squad actively campaigning for reinforcement, not passively awaiting news from the boardroom.

"I can promise you that in the last four or five days four or five players from the squad were asking if he is coming or not because they want him to be with us," Maresca said via BBC Sport.

A winner's reputation precedes him

Maresca leaned heavily on his personal history with Fernandez to explain the enthusiasm, having managed him at Chelsea when the pair won the Europa Conference League and the Club World Cup together. That shared success appears to have travelled with Maresca to City and shaped how his new squad views the incoming midfielder before he has kicked a ball.

"He is a winner, a winner's mentality and knows how to win [after] the World Cup, Club World Cup," Maresca said. "When you belong to a squad and another winning player arrives, they are always happy." (BBC Sport)

That framing matters for how quickly Fernandez is integrated. A manager citing genuine dressing-room demand, rather than club marketing, suggests City's players see him as an immediate upgrade rather than a squad depth signing, which strengthens the case for an early involvement against Coventry.

No captaincy, but no shortage of standing

Notably, Fernandez's pull inside the dressing room has not translated into a leadership armband. Maresca confirmed Ruben Dias as City's new captain, replacing the departed Bernardo Silva, with Erling Haaland, Marc Guehi and Gianluigi Donnarumma completing the leadership group. Fernandez captained Chelsea, so his omission from City's formal hierarchy is a reminder that influence and status inside a squad do not always map onto official titles, at least not yet.

The £458m rebuild: how Fernandez fits City's record spending spree

Fernandez's arrival is the headline act in what Maresca described as a squad now "finished" after a transfer window record for the club. City spent £458m on new signings this summer, comfortably a club record, while recouping more than £300m from player sales according to BBC Sport.

A £327m midfield overhaul

The centrepiece of that outlay was a revamped midfield built around three signings:

• Enzo Fernandez — £125m from Chelsea, part of a joint-British transfer record
• Elliot Anderson — incoming midfield reinforcement
• Ayyoub Bouaddi — the third piece of a combined £327m midfield spend

Beyond midfield, City also brought in wingers Iliman Ndiaye and Allan, plus back-up goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli. Maresca was explicit that the business is now complete.

Ownership backed the plan to the end

"I am very happy for the effort from the ownership, [chairman] Khaldoon [Al Mubarak] and [director of football] Hugo [Viana]. In the last days, Iliman and Enzo arrived, and now the squad is complete, it's finished. Now it is time to work," Maresca said (BBC Sport).

Spending £327m on three midfielders while already fielding an expensively assembled squad is a significant bet, and the dressing-room lobbying for Fernandez specifically suggests City's own players see him as the piece that elevates the group rather than simply adding to it.

Chelsea's exit, Alonso's response, and the 'big club' fallout

Fernandez's departure from Stamford Bridge had been building since the turn of the year, and talks with Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso over the summer failed to change his mind, per BBC Sport's reporting. His comments since completing the move have added an edge to the story.

'A club as big as City'

In his first interview since the transfer, Fernandez said he had always dreamed of playing for "a club as big as Manchester City," a remark widely read as a pointed comparison to his former employers ESPN reported. ESPN separately detailed how City's excitement over signing a "winner" in Fernandez has been matched by a sense at Chelsea that the club is ready to move on from the saga ESPN's follow-up coverage, corroborating the BBC's account of a deal driven as much by player sentiment as by club strategy.

Alonso keeps it diplomatic

For his part, Alonso avoided any public friction over the exit, choosing instead to frame it as a natural transition.

"In football many things happen. With Enzo we have had conversations and always with respect. What he has done for the club has been great, but now it's time to move forward. We have players with quality in every position and now we are ready to go," Alonso said (BBC Sport).

The two accounts largely align: Fernandez wanted out, Chelsea accepted it without rancour in public, and City moved decisively to capitalise on both the player's availability and the personal trust built during Maresca's time at Stamford Bridge.

What happens next

The immediate question is whether Fernandez starts against Coventry City this weekend. Maresca's declaration that his new signing is "ready" suggests City could fast-track him straight into the XI rather than easing him in from the bench, particularly given the vocal appetite from within the squad to have him involved.

Longer term, City's £327m midfield investment in Fernandez, Anderson and Bouaddi will be judged on results, not just reputation, and Maresca's declaration that the squad is now "finished" raises the stakes on every one of those signings delivering immediately. The Chelsea subplot, meanwhile, looks set to simmer quietly rather than boil over, with Alonso's measured response leaving little room for a manufactured rivalry, even as Fernandez's own comments keep the comparison alive.

For bettors and analysts, the clearest signal from this story is not the fee or even the leadership snub, it is that City's own dressing room, not just its recruitment department, identified Fernandez as the difference-maker. That kind of internal conviction has historically been a better predictor of a signing's impact than the size of the cheque written for him.