Manchester City are not planning to treat Ayyoub Bouaddi as the sole answer if Rodri leaves, even after already setting a new club record to bring in Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest. The club could still go after another major target, with Enzo Fernández now identified as the preferred option.

The possibility of reviving interest in Fernández, first reported before the end of last season, would push City’s summer spending beyond $400 million if Rodri were also sold. In that scenario, Barcelona may be the likeliest destination, especially after a Catalan move to intervene in the race began.

According to the Manchester Evening News, City intend to use a replacement policy for anyone who departs during the rest of the window. That does not apply only to Rodri. Tijjani Reijnders is also being strongly linked with Nottingham Forest, while another exit would trigger another signing. Savinho is one example of a player who would also be replaced if he went.

For the moment, Rodri is still at the club. BBC Sport report that City are “open to selling” the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner, but have already rejected Barcelona’s opening bid. That offer was worth $52 million (£38.5 million), well below a valuation that is close to double. City want more than $81 million (£60 million) before agreeing to a sale.

Although he has previously spoken up about a move to Real Madrid and was born in the city, Rodri is said to have approved talks with Barcelona. The same report adds that discussions with Real Madrid have now stopped completely.

Gianluca Di Marzio says Enzo Maresca’s “dream” replacement has “a specific name.” That name is Enzo Fernández. The link is straightforward: the pair spent 18 months together at Chelsea, ending in January after City approached Maresca about possibly replacing Pep Guardiola. Maresca had made Fernández one of Chelsea’s vice-captains in 2024.

Fernández had seemed short of options to leave Stamford Bridge this summer. He had openly pined for Real Madrid more than once last season without encouragement from Spain, while a move to Paris Saint-Germain never looked especially likely. City’s interest, which first emerged in late April, briefly gained traction before fading, and no approach was expected this year.

Manchester City are reported to be pursuing Jeremy Monga, a 16-year-old winger who primarily operates on the left flank. The Athletic says City are “working to complete a deal” for the teenager. Leicester will be able to offer Monga a first professional contract on his 17th birthday next week, which will allow the Foxes to command a transfer fee.

That fee is thought to be in the region of £10 million ($13.4 million). That figure is claimed to be too high for Arsenal, and sources suggest the price has left the door open for Manchester City to move in. The Gunners had been in “club-to-club contact” with Leicester, but are now described by Fabrizio Romano as being “definitely out of the race.”

The report credits Manchester City’s new boss Enzo Maresca with “driving” interest in Monga. Maresca was reportedly aware of the youngster from his time in charge at Leicester. Monga did not make a first-team appearance while Maresca was manager during the 2023–24 season, but he apparently left an impression on the Italian coach.

How Monga would fit into Manchester City’s plans next season is unclear. Jérémy Doku is established on the left wing, and City have a group of versatile attackers who have been used to fill in across the front line. Omar Marmoush and Phil Foden are named among those capable of covering wide positions, which leaves uncertainty over an immediate path to regular first-team minutes for the youngster.

The situation centres on Leicester’s ability to demand a fee once Monga signs his first pro contract and whether Manchester City will be prepared to meet that valuation. Arsenal’s earlier interest, their club-level contact with Leicester, and City’s reported drive to conclude a deal are the key developments in this transfer story.

Manchester City have confirmed an agreement to sign Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson in a transfer that establishes a new British record.

City said: “The formalities of the move will be finalized upon his return to England,” City confirmed in a statement. “In the meantime, everyone at Manchester City wishes Elliot and the England squad the very best of luck in their World Cup campaign and we look forward to welcoming him to Manchester in due course. “

City are understood to have agreed to pay Forest a fee of $153.9 million (£116 million). The club negotiated the transfer to include no add-ons, a structure that places the deal above Florian Wirtz’s switch to Liverpool, which required bonuses to reach the £116 million valuation.

Although the fee falls short of the Premier League transfer record of £125 million set by Alexander Isak’s move to Liverpool, the structure of Anderson’s transfer makes him the most expensive British player on record. The sum is also £1 million higher than Real Madrid’s acquisition of Jude Bellingham, whose initial fee was £88.5 million with add-ons that could take the total to £115 million.

Previous benchmarks for British transfers have been debated. Arsenal paid a total of £105 million for Declan Rice, structured as £100 million plus £5 million in bonuses. Harry Kane’s move to Bayern Munich in 2023 was reported as an initial £82 million with a total package thought to be worth as much as £104 million, which placed him ahead of Jack Grealish’s £100 million transfer to City in 2021. Grealish and Anderson would be teammates at Manchester City next season unless Grealish leaves during the final year of his contract.

The new British record ends an eight-year run since Gareth Bale’s £85.3 million transfer to Real Madrid in 2013 and represents another significant chapter in recent high-value moves within the sport.