Maresca to decide on Man City leadership group after transfer window

Enzo Maresca will wait to the end of the transfer window to finalise his Manchester City leadership group given the uncertainty over the final make-up of his squad.

Last season’s captain Bernardo Silva has already left the club and Rodri could follow as Barcelona weigh up another offer for the Spain midfielder, which would leave only Ruben Dias and Erling Haaland from the previous leadership group.

Perhaps tellingly, Maresca did not mention Rodri when saying he could not yet name his captains.

“At the moment it is Ruben and Erling, and I want to wait until the end of the transfer window and pick two more,” he said.

Maresca has cast doubt on the prospect of Haaland serving as captain given his preference to call over the skipper to talk tactics during goal celebrations – something his star striker would usually be leading.

At least for now, that leaves Portugal defender Dias in pole position to take the armband, having been part of the leadership group since 2021.

“Ruben has shown during his time at this club how he is as a player, in terms of leadership,” Maresca added.

“It’s important for the captain and the leader to know that the reason they are captain is because I expect more from them. It’s not because I give them more freedom or advantage. It’s the opposite, the leadership group and captains have to show more and give more than the others.”

If Rodri does leave, City could yet look again at Enzo Fernandez, despite Chelsea’s self-imposed deadline for any bids to be lodged passing on Friday. The Argentinian is part of the leadership group at Stamford Bridge.

However, Maresca also has a number of in-house options, including former Crystal Palace skipper Marc Guehi, Josko Gvardiol and Phil Foden, who has expressed an interest in stepping up.

Meanwhile, the Italian head coach has indicated teenage winger Ryan McAidoo will stay at Manchester City this season after picking him out as one of the “real surprises” of pre-season.

Maresca described the 18-year-old as “the kind of winger I love” after he starred in City’s friendly against Inter Milan, and said the club needed to find the “right path” for the 18-year-old.

Amid continuing speculation linking fellow winger Savinho with Tottenham, McAidoo now looks set to stay in Manchester to continue his development.

“For him the best thing is to stay with us, to learn and be around the first team every day,” he said.

“Try to be intelligent, try to learn from Antoine (Semenyo) and Jeremy (Doku). When I say try to learn, it’s not in terms of how to dribble – it’s about working hard because it can be difficult with young players, they can stop working because they feel they are ready when they are not.”

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