Man City makes their first two signings with Enzo Maresca after private talks
Manchester City have already picked their first two new signings under their soon-to-be manager, Enzo Maresca, according to reports. Maresca is expected to take over from Pep Guardiola, who looks set to leave the club this summer after 10 years in charge.
The Italian coach left Chelsea in January and has been out of work since, but many have tipped him as Guardiola’s replacement. He previously worked with City’s under-21 team as head coach between 2020 and 2021. Maresca is said to have reached a verbal deal with City for a three-year contract.
Guardiola still has one year left on his contract and hasn’t officially announced he’s leaving yet. He told Sky Sports he plans to talk with his players, staff, and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak before making any announcement.
However, The Athletic reports that Maresca has already been working behind the scenes on City’s transfer plans for this summer. He’s said to be working closely with sporting director Hugo Viana to prepare for the new season and beyond.
The i Paper has shared more details, saying City plan to spend up to £200 million this summer. They want to avoid the kind of difficulties Manchester United faced after David Moyes took over from Sir Alex Ferguson. Viana, who joined City last summer from Sporting Lisbon, has impressed many and is well-liked in football circles.
He has even started planning for the future beyond Maresca and picked three main players City want to sign. One is Elliot Anderson, a midfielder from Nottingham Forest and England, who is close to moving to the Etihad Stadium. Negotiations are said to be well advanced. The 23-year-old has been linked with a transfer for a while and looks set to leave Forest despite the club’s recent success.
City also want to speed up plans to sign a new right-back. Their top target is Michael Kayode from Brentford. The Italy youth international has shown strong defending skills and is great at moving the ball forward. He also has an impressive long throw that’s helped Brentford in attack. Kayode turns 22 this summer and has caught attention from Juventus, but he says he doesn’t plan to go back to Italy. He joined Brentford last summer from Fiorentina after a good loan spell.
On top of that, Bournemouth striker Eli Junior Kroupi has been spotted as a future target by Maresca. Kroupi scored the goal that stopped City from winning the Premier League title in their recent 1-1 draw. However, he won’t be available until at least next summer, as Bournemouth prepares for their first European campaign under new manager Marco Rose, who is taking over from Andoni Iraola.