As the Premier League season gets underway, attention has turned to whether Manchester City and Liverpool have strengthened sufficiently in the transfer market to mount a genuine challenge to reigning champions Arsenal.
Manchester City have experienced a summer of dramatic transition. After a decade at the helm, Pep Guardiola has been succeeded by Enzo Maresca, and the club has bid farewell to several key figures from its trophy-laden era, including Rodri, Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Jack Grealish. Savio, Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzales, James Trafford, Nathan Ake and Tijjani Reijnders have also departed the Etihad Stadium.
Despite the upheaval, City's determination to remain competitive has been evident in their aggressive approach to rebuilding the squad. The club paid £125m to reunite Maresca with midfielder Enzo Fernandez, a deal that equals the British transfer record. That signing followed the £116m acquisition of England international Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest.
City's business didn't stop there. Iliman Ndiaye arrived from Everton in a £65m deal, while 18-year-old Morocco talent Ayyoub Bouaddi joined from Lille for £85.6m. Brazilian prospect Allan Elias also made the move from Palmeiras.
The Fernandez transfer alone pushed City's total outlay this window to a Premier League record £458m, eclipsing Liverpool's previous benchmark of £415m set last summer. However, City have offset much of that expenditure through approximately £300m in player sales, reflecting the scale of turnover as the club enters its post-Guardiola chapter.
Taken together, it has been a whirlwind window for City, but one that appears to leave them well-equipped, alongside their existing quality, to launch a serious title challenge this season.
Liverpool, meanwhile, faced a different kind of rebuilding job following the departure of Mohamed Salah at the end of last season and the appointment of Andoni Iraola as manager in place of the sacked Arne Slot. Replacing Salah's influence was always going to be a significant challenge for the Reds.
Their primary summer target was Bradley Barcola, who eventually signed from Paris Saint-Germain for £123m. Known for his pace, creativity and eye for goal, Barcola is not viewed as a direct replacement for Salah, given his preference for operating on the left flank.
Liverpool also brought in Victor Munoz, part of Spain's World Cup-winning squad, another attacking option who has already made an impact — scoring a spectacular equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest.
Rather than seeking a single like-for-like successor to Salah, Liverpool's approach has been to distribute goal-scoring responsibility across multiple wide areas of the pitch.
However, the club's opening results — draws against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest — have exposed a familiar weakness that plagued Liverpool during last season's underwhelming title defence. The absence of a genuine holding midfielder has left the team's shape unbalanced and susceptible to counter-attacks. Opposition sides have continued to find space to exploit through the middle of the park, yet Iraola made no move to address that specific area during the transfer window.
Whether Liverpool can resolve this defensive fragility may prove decisive in determining if they can bounce back from last season's disappointment and compete at the top of the table once again.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.