Gary Neville believes Enzo’s £125m transfer from Chelsea to Manchester City is the most significant midfield move of this summer’s Premier League transfer window.
The Argentina midfielder completed his move to Manchester City on deadline day, bringing an end to a three-year spell at Chelsea. The deal makes him the club’s most important new signing during a summer in which Manchester City have spent £454.2m on transfers.
The transfer was completed after a complicated pursuit. Enzo had been seeking a move away from Stamford Bridge before the window opened, while Chelsea eventually concluded that allowing him to leave with only a few hours remaining was in the club’s best interests.
Talks between the two clubs began on Monday, the second-last day of the transfer window. Manchester City’s opening proposal, worth £104m plus add-ons, was rejected by Chelsea, who wanted a guaranteed fee and placed a £135m valuation on the player.
Manchester City returned with an offer of £125m, which Chelsea accepted.
Enzo was one of a number of high-profile midfielders to move during the window. Manchester United signed Tielemans, Baleba and Andre for a combined £155m, while Tonali left Newcastle United for Tottenham Hotspur.
Guimaraes joined Arsenal, and Matheus Fernandes also moved to Tottenham Hotspur. Tottenham spent £185m strengthening their midfield, while Arsenal paid £75m for Guimaraes.
Despite the quality and cost of those deals, Neville ranked Enzo above the other midfield arrivals.
“However, he’s better than the other midfielders who transferred this summer, isn’t he? Is he better than Elliott-Anderson? I think probably so.”
Neville added: “I think he’s more mature. I think he’s better than Matheus Fernandes, Tonali, and Guimaraes. So from a quality perspective, they signed a top midfielder, didn’t they?”
He also compared the signing with Manchester United’s midfield recruitment.
“You look at Tielemans, Baleba, and Andre signed by Manchester Unitedamong all these transferred players, he is the best one.”
Manchester City have made major changes to their squad during the summer, with the club also paying £60m for Everton striker Ndiaye. That fee could rise to £65m if add-on clauses are met.
The 26-year-old Ndiaye was recruited to replace Marmoush, who joined Tottenham Hotspur on loan earlier in the window. Those late deals followed a series of substantial investments by Manchester City as they reshaped their squad.
Elliott-Anderson was the club’s first major signing of the summer, agreeing to join during the Club World Cup. Manchester City then signed Ayyoub Bouhaddi from Lille for £85m.
Neville’s assessment places Enzo at the top of an expensive list of midfield transfers, despite the scale of Tottenham’s spending and Manchester United’s combined outlay on three players. The move also represents the largest individual midfield investment among the deals discussed, with Manchester City paying £125m to secure the Argentina midfielder before the transfer window closed.
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