Enzo Maresca outlines Man City transfer market ambitions after £116M Elliot Anderson capture | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has delivered his first public assessment of the Manchester City squad following his appointment as manager on a three-year contract.

Maresca was confirmed as City’s manager on a contract until 2029 after a period of protracted compensation negotiations with Chelsea, and has since made his first visit to the club’s training ground as he begins to familiarise himself with the squad he will be working with ahead of the 2026-27 campaign at the Etihad Stadium.

The 46-year-old inherits a group that has undergone significant change since Pep Guardiola‘s departure, with the summer transfer window already producing the £116 million arrival of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest and further additions understood to be in various stages of negotiation as Viana continues to shape the squad around Maresca’s requirements.

Maresca: The squad is already good, we need to do some things

Speaking via the official Manchester City channels, Maresca offered a measured but encouraging verdict on the squad he has inherited, striking a tone of quiet confidence tempered with an honest acknowledgement that the rebuild is ongoing.

“It’s young, but it’s a very good squad,” said Maresca. “I think we have the right mix between young and more experienced players which helps a lot the young ones to grow and improve.

“The squad is already good, for sure. We need to do some things, but we’re working with Hugo and we’ll see.”

The reference to Viana by first name underlines the closeness of the working relationship between manager and director of football that City have sought to build as the foundation of their post-Guardiola structure, with the two men understood to be aligned in their thinking on the profile of additions required before pre-season begins in earnest.

What do Maresca’s comments tell us about Manchester City’s summer plans?

The phrase “we need to do some things” is, by design, deliberately understated, but carries real weight in the context of a window in which City are understood to be targeting as many as five new signings across multiple positions before the window closes – including a second central midfielder, a full-back, an attacker and a goalkeeper alongside Anderson’s arrival.

Maresca’s emphasis on the balance between youth and experience speaks to a broader philosophy that has defined his managerial career to date, and his comfort with the age profile of City’s current squad suggests he views the group’s youth as an asset to be developed rather than a vulnerability to be managed.

Whether the “some things” City need to do are completed quickly enough to give Maresca a settled group before competitive football returns remains the central question of the summer at the Etihad Stadium – but the Italian’s comments suggests a man who knows precisely what he wants and is confident that Viana will help him get it.