Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca was officially confirmed this week and has wasted no time in making his mark on transfers
STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 21: Jeremy Monga of Leicester City during the Sky Bet Championship match between Stoke City and Leicester City at Bet365 Stadium on February 21, 2026 in Stoke on Trent, United Kingdom. (Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 21: Jeremy Monga of Leicester City during the Sky Bet Championship match between Stoke City and Leicester City at Bet365 Stadium on February 21, 2026 in Stoke on Trent, United Kingdom. (Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
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Jeremy Monga
For years, there has been talk of a Pep Guardiola player. Manchester City have a sporting director and a team to lead their recruitment yet their aim has been to sign stars that will work best with the manager.
It isn't the case with all signings, but some players have just seemed perfect for Guardiola in a way that others haven't. Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and Rodri are on one side of the argument in a way that Gianluigi Donnarumma, Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki have all been cast on the other side.
The fact that all of the above have had success at City shows there are limits to the theory, yet the general principle remains. Even if Guardiola wasn't active in picking all the transfer targets, they were picked with him in mind.
Days after he was officially confirmed as Guardiola's successor, the new City manager is already showing what an Enzo Maresca player is. City are set to pounce for young Leicester winger Jeremy Monga, who was with the Foxes when Maresca was in charge a few years ago.
City have previously held interest in Monga but that was not strong enough for them to push to sign him, and this summer they were not in the conversation as Arsenal looked confident of securing a deal. Instead, City have struck late and fast to offer a fee in the region of £10m that is more in line with what Leicester have been waiting for.
The 16-year-old is unlikely to end City's search for a winger in the summer window, should he complete his move. The club have been looking in that position for a while with uncertainty over Savinho's future amid interest from Tottenham, and will continue to do so.
However, it is hard not to connect the manner of City's move for Monga with the arrival of Maresca. In looking at what has changed to make the Blues suddenly go for him, the Italian is the obvious change.
It is significant in the wider game that City are spending that much on a 16-year-old. It also matters that they have struck so suddenly and effectively, leaving Arsenal with a bloody nose and flexing their muscle in the transfer market.
From a City perspective though, most interesting and potentially important is the influence of Maresca on the deal. Everybody knows what a Guardiola player is or was and while the new coach has been picked to give some level of continuity, he is his own man with his own preferences for what he wants his footballers to be like and to have.
Whatever else happens with Monga at City, this signing looks to be the start of the Maresca era.