By Kehinde-Hassan Afolabi
Enzo Maresca has been trusted with taking charge of Manchester City, who lost not just Pep Guardiola this summer, as the Spaniard’s exit was followed by a mass exodus of players, including long-serving stars who were the heartbeat of the team.
From Rodri to Bernardo Silva and John Stones, five of the names in the starting XI for their UEFA Champions League final win over Inter in 2023 departed this summer, with only Ruben Dias, Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland still at the club.
The summer completely changed the look of the Mancunians’ team sheet, but it was always down to Enzo Maresca to ensure that it didn’t completely change their fortunes.
The Italian returned to the club in controversial circumstances following his Chelsea exit at the turn of the year, a saga that ultimately led to the Etihad landlords paying a £17 million out-of-court settlement to the Blues to prevent further legal issues.
Enzo Maresca was also required to pay compensation to Chelsea. Following allegations that his mid-season exit and contract breach caused major disruption to Chelsea’s campaign, he agreed to a separate settlement with the club.
However, the task at Manchester City was more complicated than it looked from the outside. The team had not won the league title in back-to-back seasons, and their best players were already looking for new adventures.
The departure of Pep Guardiola also affected their pull, as many top players would have preferred to play under the Spaniard. That presented another challenge for Maresca to overcome in his early days as Manchester City boss.
Nevertheless, with the curtain drawing on the summer transfer window in a matter of hours, Manchester City fans wouldn’t have much to complain about regarding their business, especially with the quality that may still come in.
Manchester City’s Mass Exodus
Rodri, John Stones, Bernardo Silva and Nathan Ake all brought an end to their Manchester City eras this summer, after enjoying productive and memorable spells at the club under the guidance of Pep Guardiola.
From winning multiple Premier League titles, including a historic four in consecutive seasons, to securing the club’s first-ever UEFA Champions League title, they wrote a story that no other set of players has written in English football history.
Losing some of these players was a major setback, especially in the case of Rodri, who had a year left on his contract, with the hope that City could convince him to extend his stay and help nurture the future stars of the club.
Then there were players who were looking for more assurance after being limited at the club, with their development stalling due to a lack of minutes. Omar Marmoush, Savinho, Nico Gonzalez and James Trafford fall into this category.
The likes of Manuel Akanji, Kalvin Phillips and Tijjani Reijnders will also not contribute under Maresca after moving elsewhere during the window, although Phillips remains under contract at the Etihad.
In total, 11 first-team players left City during the summer transfer window, and at least four of them can be considered club legends. Three more youngsters who had already played multiple games for the first team also departed.
The situation left Enzo Maresca with much more to do than simply succeed the most successful squad of the modern era of English football.
How Enzo Maresca approached his Man City rebuild
Qualification
The recent history of Manchester City is synonymous with success, so keeping up with those standards was always going to be demanding, especially given what happened at the other side of Manchester following the exit of the man who orchestrated their golden era.
Manchester City didn’t shy away from their intention and ambition, and this was shown very early, even before the departure of Pep Guardiola, with their interest in Mikel Arteta, who ultimately gave them no chance and strengthened his ties with Arsenal.
Enzo Maresca was the next big and approachable name in the league, and given his reputation at Leicester City and Chelsea, added to his history with the club’s youth team and his role as an assistant under Guardiola, he made the perfect candidate.
Trusting proven stars and ruthless spending
Maresca has also been ruthless in the window. Even though City haven’t made that many signings, he has ensured that those coming in can contribute in the present while also choosing to give opportunities to players who played significant roles in previous success.
Trusting the experienced squad players
So far, it appears Phil Foden will be a key man in Maresca’s plans. The Englishman lost his spot in the latter stages under Pep Guardiola but signed a contract extension this summer, with Maresca reportedly backing him to rediscover his best form.
Erling Haaland and Ruben Dias remain the leaders of the team, with Haaland promoted to vice-captain, while the likes of Rayan Cherki, Nico O’Reilly, Josko Gvardiol and Marc Guehi continue after a very impressive season that saw the first two make the PFA Team of the Year.
Manchester City also made some key signings in recent windows. The likes of Abdulkodir Khusanov, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Antoine Semenyo are very reliable players, while Matteo Kovacic will be trusted for his experience as long as he remains in the squad.
Statement signings to sell intention
What the best teams do to sustain their dominance is sign the best players in the league, thereby preventing their rivals from strengthening while securing their own present and future. That is what City did with Elliot Anderson.
For £116 million, the English midfielder moved to the Etihad from Nottingham Forest and became the most expensive signing in the club’s history. But City and Maresca were not done.
They have also added Morocco’s sensational midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi in a deal worth a total package of €100 million. The 18-year-old is highly rated and, even though he would not be expected to match Rodri’s level for now, City couldn’t have done much better in securing a potential successor to the Spaniard.
Geronimo Rulli has arrived as a backup to Donnarumma after Trafford’s departure, while Allan Elias has been announced in a £34 million deal from Palmeiras to add to their attack, with a huge possibility of landing the Premier League-experienced Cody Gakpo from Liverpool.
Enzo Fernandez remains another player who could move from Chelsea to reunite with Maresca before the end of the transfer window. His arrival would mean the club can field a midfield trio each worth €100 million, all signed in one summer.
While fans keep their fingers crossed over the pending deals, their new manager has done well to keep them competitive at the top of English football.
What now for Maresca and Man City?
Manchester City have backed their manager and will continue to back him ahead of the transfer deadline, but the season will not be as easy, and Mancunians may have to exercise patience during the early days of Enzo Maresca’s reign.
Their closest rivals, Arsenal, have a group that has been together much longer and also have the edge in quality at the moment, but the Cityzens do have reasons to be optimistic, just as everyone who went up against them during their years of dominance had reasons to be wary.
They have kicked off the season with two Premier League wins from two, but before that came a humbling loss to Arsenal in the Community Shield at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, an important lesson for reflection as they seek to re-establish their dominance.
Ultimately, Maresca’s biggest challenge is not replacing Guardiola or recreating the City of the past, but building a new identity capable of producing the same level of dominance. The scale of the rebuild means immediate perfection should not be the expectation, particularly with Arsenal currently possessing greater continuity and stability.
Yet the quality of City’s recruitment, combined with the experience still present in the dressing room and Maresca’s familiarity with the club’s structure, provides a strong foundation. The early results are encouraging, but the real examination will come when injuries, fixture congestion and the pressure for silverware arrive for a squad that still looks too thin.
If Maresca can integrate the new arrivals without losing the standards established during Guardiola’s reign, City may discover that this summer’s mass exodus was not the beginning of their decline, but the starting point of another era.
