The club also view the signing as a major show of faith in boss Enzo Maresca, who succeeded Pep Guardiola and immediately made Fernandez one of his priority targets for the squad.
City chiefs promised to pursue a deal if it proved possible, and on Deadline Day they have finally made their move to agree a transfer for the Argentina international.
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His arrival is the final significant part of City's squad rebuild and is made possible by other club business that has opened up.
Most attention will surround the outlay, particularly after they purchased fellow midfielders Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for £116m and Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille for £86m.
They have also signed Allan Elias from Palmeiras for £34m, while Jeremy Monga arrived from Leicester City for £10m and Pierce Charles moved from Sheffield Wednesday for £3m. Geronimo Rulli joined from Marseille for £1.7m, while Mathys Detourbet arrived from Troyes for an undisclosed fee - believed to be in the region of £21m.
There is no doubting that it is a huge amount of spending, but the rest of their summer business shows how it is possible.
City have also generated significant revenue through player sales.
Savinho joined Tottenham for £85m, and Omar Marmoush also moved to the North London club on a season-long loan, but with an obligation of at least £50million.
Rodri moved to Barcelona for £65.4m, Tijjani Reijnders joined Al Qadsiah for £51m, Nico Gonzalez moved to Newcastle for £50m, and James Trafford joined Leeds for £40m.
Nathan Ake has also left for Fenerbahce for £8.5m, while Reigan Heskey joined Cologne for £6m and Issa Kabore moved to Wrexham for £2m.
Based on those figures, City are satisfied that the money generated from player sales has helped make a deal for Fernandez both possible and financially reasonable.
They also know their new boss is delighted to have a player on board who he believes can help keep them in contention for every trophy this season.
Dean Jones is a transfer news and football insider for Flashscore, since 2025. He has been a journalist on leading UK newspapers and websites over the past 20 years, establishing himself as an authoritative and trusted voice in the industry.
