Reports suggest that Enzo Maresca will soon take over as Manchester City manager - but which players might he target in the summer transfer window?
While the official announcement has not yet been made, it’s widely anticipated that Pep Guardiola will confirm his departure from Manchester City after a glittering decade in charge ahead of the final game of the season against Aston Villa – with his former assistant, Enzo Maresca, expected to replace him for the 2026/27 campaign.
As a former pupil of Guardiola’s and a fellow believer in a system based on possession and positional play, Maresca isn’t likely to pull up any trees within the squad and a major summer rebuild seems relatively unlikely. But with several apparent weaknesses revealing themselves over the course of a season in which they failed to keep pace with Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table and speculation over the future of a number of core players, several new signings are likely – so we’ve taken a look at four players who could be on Manchester City’s radar once their new head coach takes charge.
Elliot Anderson
Maresca, like Guardiola before him, is expected to be named as head coach rather than manager with recruitment remaining within the purview of director of football Hugo Viana – and that means that it’s unlikely that Maresca’s appointment will make Manchester City move on from players who were already key transfer targets.
A new defensive midfielder is a priority, and Elliot Anderson appears to be firmly at the top of their shopping list. His box-to-box style should suit Maresca, who has generally preferred a double pivot in midfield rather than using a single holding player, and Anderson would likely slot in alongside Rodri – assuming the Spaniard stays – rather than supplanting him. On paper, he’s an easy fit for Maresca’s system.
While Manchester United also admire Anderson, it’s believed that City have a clear edge ahead of the summer transfer window and they remain firm favourites to win that particular race. It would, at this stage, be more of a surprise if Anderson didn’t move to the Etihad at some point in the coming months.
Speculation over the future of Tijjani Reijnders and Mateo Kovačić means that it’s possible that City double dip in defensive midfield, but Maresca may well view that pair as players he wants to keep. Should that not be the case, then younger options such as Kees Smit and Kennet Eichhorn become potential targets.
Valentino Livramento
While Mateus Nunes has settled into his role at right-back quite well after a shaky start, right-back is still a clear area of need for City this summer with a lack of options at the position. Newcastle’s Livramento is believed to be their primary target.
The only other team known to be keen on Livramento, Arsenal, are well-stocked at full-back for now and aren’t likely to make a move unless a player such as Ben White moves on. Newcastle, meanwhile, are in a financial position in which they are prepared to sell players for suitably substantial fees. Manchester City should be in a good position to get this deal done.
Livramento is especially appealing to Manchester City because he can also operate as an inverted left-back. With Joško Gvardiol increasingly linked with a move away and Rayan Aït-Nouri yet to cut a complete convincing figure down the left, a player who can operate effectively on both flanks would be ideal, especially if Maresca views Nico O’Reilly as having a brighter future in midfield. Expect City to explore a move for Livramento, and to be prepared to spend a significant sum to land him.
Andrea Cambiaso
Because of the aforementioned uncertainty over the left-back position, there’s every chance that Manchester City sign a full-back on either side this summer – and while Andrea Cambiaso isn’t the only option, the Juventus man ticks a lot of the club’s boxes.
Genuinely two-footed, positionally versatile and technically impressive, Cambiaso would be an attacking option but one whose creativity and ball skills would mesh well with the tactical principles Maresca has adopted from Guardiola. His rare combination of traits suggest a player who could take up a role similar to the one that João Cançelo once occupied at the Etihad.
Eintracht Frankfurt’s Nathaniel Brown is another player who has been linked with City, but Bayern Munich and Manchester United are both keen too and it’s less easy to predict where the German international’s future might lie. Cambiaso is a long-term target and was considered as an option last summer – he may well finally get his move to the Premier League.
Dani Olmo
While midfield and full-back are the biggest worries heading into the off-season, there’s also something of a quandary regarding who might play the number 10 role which Maresca typically uses.
Phil Foden would be the obvious choice but he has struggled for consistent form for some time now. Bernardo Silva is leaving, and Maresca may prefer to use Rayan Cherki out wide. All of that implies that a more natural central attacking midfielder – a playmaker who can score goals himself – becomes a consideration.
There will inevitably be speculation that Maresca could encourage a bid for former charge Cole Palmer, but Chelsea have no interest in selling, Palmer has played down any talk of a move, and it would take a stratospheric bid to persuade the Blues to even come to the table. That might make Barcelona’s Dani Olmo a better bet.
Barcelona’s persistent need to sell players means that Olmo would likely be available for a reasonable price, and his combination of creativity, incisive passing and ability to be a threat inside the penalty area in his own right suggest that he would fit the bill. Manchester City were linked with the Spain international last summer and have been again in recent weeks – albeit in the gossip columns rather than by any more reliable sources – and it wouldn’t be a shock if he’s an option that City explored depending on how Maresca views the options already at his disposal.
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