For all the noise around City’s extraordinary summer spending, one of the quieter stories of the opening fortnight has been Nico O’Reilly.
City spent a reported £116million on Elliot Anderson, £86million on Ayyoub Bouaddi and then another £125million to bring Enzo Fernández from Chelsea on deadline day.
That’s £327million on three midfielders alone.
Yet O’Reilly, a product of City’s academy, has started both of Enzo Maresca’s Premier League games so far.
O’Reilly has given Maresca something to think about
The 21-year-old started the 2-1 opening-day win over Bournemouth and was retained for the 4-1 victory at Crystal Palace.
There is no great declaration to make after two matches.
Fernández has been bought for £125m and will clearly have a major role, Anderson has also started both league games and Bouaddi made his debut from the bench at Palace.
Marc Guéhi has already been used in midfield too.
O’Reilly could therefore find himself on the bench very soon.
But that’s almost what makes his start interesting.
City have spent heavily to reshape this area of the team, and O’Reilly has survived the first two selections.
He hasn’t needed to dominate games or produce spectacular numbers. Maresca has simply trusted him to start twice and City have won twice.
What happens when Fernández is ready to come into the side will tell us more.
For now, though, amid £327m worth of new midfielders, O’Reilly is still there.
Sometimes the less glamorous story is the better one.
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