It may have been a quieter transfer deadline day than years past but there was still big news out of England, the Premier League's financial might quickly emerging as a defining feature of European soccer. I'm Pardeep Cattry with a recap of Tuesday's most notable deals and where teams go from here now that their transfer business is complete. Wednesday, Sept. 2🇮🇹 Coppa Italia: Udinese vs.
Venezia, 12 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network🏴 Championship: Burnley vs. Middlesbrough, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network🇺🇸🇲🇽 Leagues Cup: Club America vs. Monterrey, 11:30 p.m. ➡️ Apple TV Thursday, Sept. 3🇪🇸 LaLiga: Real Sociedad vs.
Celta de Vigo, 3 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+🇮🇹 Coppa Italia: Cagliari vs. Verona, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network It took all summer but Enzo Fernandez's transfer to Manchester City is complete. The Argentina international finalized the move on deadline day after City agreed to pay Chelsea a transfer fee of roughly $169 million, equalling the British record fee Liverpool paid Newcastle United to sign Alexander Isak a year ago.
Fernandez's exit seemed likely all summer long, but especially so after Xabi Alonso omitted him from the Blues' matchday squad ahead of Sunday's win over Brighton and Hove Albion, paving the way for the midfielder to reunite with ex-Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca. Fernandez is now the headlining act of City's new look under Maresca, Chuck Booth noting that the midfielder helps his new team level up in a season of transition. It was not City's only move of the day, either – Maresca's side completed an $81 million move for Iliman Ndiaye from Everton in the final hours of the window, adding some more attacking depth after bidding farewell to new Tottenham Hotspur players Omar Marmoush and Savio.
The Fernandez deal, though, speaks to City's seemingly endless financial capital. The club spent roughly $435 million on midfield talent this summer alone, Fernandez joining new recruits Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest and Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille. Since winning the treble three years ago, though, City have dropped around $673 million on central midfielders with varying levels of success.
The question facing them now is if the new batch of midfielders will take them where they want to go as Maresca and director of football Hugo Viana mount an ambitious rebuild. Fernandez's transfer, though, also exemplifies a modern reality of the European game -- the Premier League boasts a sizable economic advantage compared to the rest of their counterparts around the continent. England's top-flight clubs preferred to recruit from within the league this summer, the model of buying players with Premier League experience transitioning from an emphasis on the intangibles to one based on more data.
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