Enzo Maresca makes double hint on future of Man City including academy stars and playing style | OneFootball

New Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has hinted towards increased usage of academy players within the first-team at the Etihad Stadium, speaking in his first club interview.

Following the formal announcement of a £17 million settlement with Premier League rivals Chelsea to secure his contractual release, the 46-year-old tactician has wasted no time in setting out an ambitious tone.

Maresca’s connection with Manchester is well-known, having steered the club’s Elite Development Squad (EDS) to a Premier League 2 title in 2021 before serving as a key technical lieutenant to Pep Guardiola during the 2022/23 Treble-winning campaign.

This institutional familiarity arrives at a pivotal moment, as Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak recently echoed the manager’s vision by highlighting the first-team promotion of Nico O’Reilly as a prime example of the club’s future pipeline.

While Sporting Director Hugo Viana continues to demonstrate muscle in the transfer market – finalising a club-record £116 million deal for England international Elliot Anderson – Maresca’s long-term blueprint refuses to sideline internal starlets.

Instead, the Italian coach seemingly views the academy’s methodology as a vital tool to absorb squad exhaustion ahead of the August 23 Premier League opener against Bournemouth and the season to come.

Man City must be “brave” with Academy, says Maresca

Speaking in his first interview as Manchester City manager, Enzo Maresca pointed towards the need to be “brave” when it comes to academy talents, in a clear hint towards increased usage of the club’s younger stars.

“I think in the last, I’m not sure exactly how many years, but also when I was here with the EDS, most of that squad, most of those players are all Premier League players or almost all of them,” Maresca pointed out.

The Italian continued, “The way they are working and the methodology they use in the last years also help the young players to develop in the right way. With younger players, you need also to be a little bit brave to give them an opportunity and we will continue to do that.”

Maresca details Man City play style vision

Looking forward to the playing style of his Manchester City side from next season, the 46-year-old continued, “The idea I said from the Club is to continue to maintain the same style of football that City had in the last years, so we’re going to try to do that.

“Also because it’s the way I like to work. The idea is to continue as much as we can to dominate games, to play in the opposite side, be aggressive off the ball and with intention on the ball. I think that during my experience as a player, you try to take all the best things from all the managers [you have worked with].”

Maresca went on to explain, “For sure, for me, I feel like I’ve been lucky working and sharing time with the managers I have because they showed during the seasons and years how good they have been and they are also all different.

“Marcelo Lippi in terms of leadership was fantastic, Carlo Ancelotti in terms of calming down and also he’s a top manager so I feel quite lucky.”

Pep to Enzo, same but different?

This strategic commitment will likely form the foundational core of Enzo Maresca’s pre-season sessions, which are set to ramp up in late July before the squad boards a flight to Hong Kong and South Korea for a trio of friendly matches.

Concurrently, this philosophical stability allows Hugo Viana to approach outstanding summer market negotiations with targeted focus rather than ‘panic-buying’ unnecessary squad fill towards the end of August.

Among the ongoing transfer stories are reported interest in Chelsea’s Malo Gusto – reportedly valued at around £45 million by City – alongside Rodri’s upcoming post-World Cup injury surgery and links with Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali and Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi.