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Manchester City have signed four new first-team players this summer and this is how they will fit in at the Etihad.
Manchester City have spent £111million on first-team signings so far this summer, but it's been an odd window for the Blues. They got their business done early so the new arrivals could be with the squad for the Club World Cup, but since then, they've seen rivals, notably Liverpool and Arsenal, splash the cash aggressively.
It is shaping up to be a fierce battle at the top this season, and City are in the unusual position of going into the Premier League campaign without being strong favourites to win the title, but Pep Guardiola's side will be desperate to regain their crown.
It's also worth remembering that some of their summer rebuild was brought forward, with £180milion spent on Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico Gonzalez and Omar Marmoush. Four new summer signings - not counting youngster Sverre Nypan who will head out on loan - have added to the pace of change within this squad.
But where do they all fit in and what can we expect of them in their first season at the Etihad? We run the rule over Marcus Bettinelli, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki to see what City fans can expect.
Marcus Bettinelli
This one is pretty simple. With Scott Carson ending his six-year stay at the club, City needed another experienced third-choice goalkeeper who ticked the homegrown box and who could bring the good vibes. Bettinelli was an obvious choice.
He had got lost amid Chelsea's glut of goalkeepers at Stamford Bridge, but has plenty of Premier League experience with Fulham, was once in an England squad and was considered an all-round good egg in West London.
After he signed for the club, 33-year-old Bettinelli said he wanted to contribute "in training, the dressing room and on the pitch". In reality, it's in that order for a third-choice goalkeeper.
They are required to maintain a high standard in training and keep Ederson and Stefan Ortega on their toes, but they also have to bring something a little different. Carson was the prime example, the player loved by all of his teammates at the Etihad who could lighten the mood when required but also offer a different tempo.
That is the challenge now facing Bettinelli as he tries to settle into his new surroundings and get to know his new teammates.
Rayan Ait-Nouri
This will be remembered as the summer when City finally signed a left-back. After an era of make-do-and-mend solutions on that flank, from Fabian Delph to Josko Gvardiol, Guardiola now has a specialist in his squad.
Cut-price deals for Angelino and Sergio Gomez never really worked out, but the £31million spent on Ait-Nouri already looks like a bargain. He was very impressive in the Club World Cup.
The 24-year-old has plenty of Premier League experience with Wolves and has finally reached the elite after a promising youth career at Angers, having been on City's radar as a teenager.
On his City debut against Al Ain, he played as a wing-back and looked a devastating attacking threat. He held his width, could dribble infield, beat a man, and looked an excellent attacking full-back.
When Jeremy Doku returned to the team, Ait-Nouri played inside a little, with Doku providing the width. The two of them quickly struck up an impressive understanding, capped off with Ait-Nouri's wonderful pass for Doku's goal against Juventus.
The Algerian can expect to be a regular on the teamsheet this season, and he has shown he can offer versatility in the role. There will be times he provides the width and the attacking incision, with a winger playing, maybe Phil Foden or Bernardo Silva, playing infield.
But when he combines with Doku, he might be required to play a more inverted role. He has shown he has the quality on the ball to do that.
Tijjani Reijnders
City's midfield is undergoing a rapid transformation in 2025. It's so fast that January signing Nico Gonzalez, a £50million addition from Porto, is now out of favour and being linked with an exit.
Part of the reason for that is the £46.3million signing of Tijjani Reijnders, who joined from AC Milan and looked a good player during the Club World Cup.
He spent some of his time in America filling in for Rodri in a deep midfield role, but it's easy to envisage a midfield partnership of Rodri and Reijnders as the season progresses and the Spaniard returns to full fitness.
Reijnders signed for City after his best season for AC Milan, scoring 15 goals in 2024/25. His increased attacking threat was a big reason Guardiola wanted him. He knows he needs more goals from midfield, and Reijnders can provide that.
Speaking during the Club World Cup, Reijnders revealed he had watched clips of Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne and then explained why he had been signed.
“It’s the No.8 position and that is why they got me. Now I have to fill the No.8 position and do my best to show that I should play. I’m really looking forward to it," he said.
That potential partnership between Rodri and Reijnders looks like a well-balanced combination on paper.
Rayan Cherki
The 21-year-old Frenchman was the June arrival that got pulses racing among City fans. When they switched from Florian Wirtz to Cherki, there was some disappointment, but then he made his international debut against Germany in the Nations League and produced a spell-binding cameo.
So comfortable on either foot it's hard to know which one he prefers, Cherki had his best season for Lyon last term, with 12 goals and 20 assists in 44 games. His promise to get revenge over Manchester United for knocking Lyon out of the Europa League in heartbreaking fashion also went down well with the blue half of Manchester.
But it is on the pitch where there is so much excitement. His assist for Foden in the defeat to Al Hilal was another example of the abundant talent he possesses in either foot.
That has made him look a potential replacement for De Bruyne, but Silva played in that attacking midfield role most often in the Club World Cup. Cherki will get his chance centrally, however, as will Foden.
Cherki can also play on the right wing, and while Savinho often operated there in the United States, the France international could prove very difficult to leave out.
"He's like an artist," former Lyon academy boss Jean-Francois Vulliez told the MEN. "He likes creativity, and for him it's a signature of himself, it's creativity and how to beat my opponent and how to dribble and score.
"I think Guardiola will have an accurate idea of how he wants to use him on the pitch, so I think it could be great for Rayan to play in this team.
"He has to adapt himself to the culture, the language and the Premier League, the intensity and the level of the Premier League, but I think he will do that and I think for the fans of Manchester City and England it will be great that Rayan plays here."
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