Enzo Fernández would become City’s record signing if the club complete a deal for the Chelsea midfielder at the figures currently being discussed.
City only broke their transfer record in July when they paid Nottingham Forest £116m for Elliot Anderson.
The England midfielder comfortably surpassed the previous £100m record set by Jack Grealish when he arrived from Aston Villa in 2021.
Yet Anderson’s place at the top of City’s list could prove remarkably short-lived.
City have now made a bid worth more than £120m for Fernández as they attempt to complete one of the biggest deals of Deadline Day.
Anderson’s City record could last just two months
Anderson was the headline arrival at the start of Enzo Maresca’s rebuild and became the most expensive British player when his move from Forest was completed.
But City’s pursuit of Fernández has quickly taken the numbers into even higher territory.
Chelsea are understood to value the Argentina international at around £120m, with City now attempting to find an agreement before the transfer window closes.
Reports over the precise state of negotiations have differed throughout Deadline Day, although the important point for the record books is simple.
Any deal above Anderson’s £116m fee would make Fernández the most expensive signing in City’s history.
It would be another remarkable marker of the scale of the rebuild taking place under Maresca.
Anderson has been joined this summer by Ayyoub Bouaddi and Allan, while City are also closing in on a £65m deal for Everton attacker Iliman Ndiaye.
Fernández would comfortably become the biggest investment of the lot if an agreement can be reached.
For now, Anderson remains City’s record signing.
Just two months after taking that title, however, he may already be about to lose it.
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