Is Enzo Maresca the Man to Lead Manchester City After Pep Guardiola?
- Abdullah Mamaniyat
- Jan 12
- 3 min read
Whilst unconfirmed, the rumours continue to swirl about Pep Guardiola leaving Manchester City at the end of the season. It would mark a decade at the Etihad Stadium, the longest tenure in his managerial career by far. Under Pep, City have grown from a domestic powerhouse to a European giant.
In December, Guardiola responded to questions about a possible by saying: “I have 18 months [left on my contract] so I’m so happy with the development of my team. That question is there every single season at some point. Whatever is going to happen will happen.” At the time, Maresca was asked the same question, describing the reports as “100 percent speculation”.
The path to finding a successor has been made easier with Enzo Maresca’s departure from Chelsea in the New Year. Cracks had begun to show in the relationship between the board and the manager, but the final straw was Maresca’s revelation to the club figures that he had held preliminary talks with City over replacing Guardiola.
Despite quitting the Chelsea job, The Chelsea Chronicle reported that Maresca will have been paid a settlement fee of worth a few million, as opposed to early reports of the former Leicester City manager walking away from £14m in compensation.
It will likely mean that Maresca can financially see out the rest of the season without feeling rushed to decide on his future. In the meantime, there will be a swift expectation by fans, club board and Maresca himself to see if Guardiola is now in the last 6 months of his successful tenure at City.
The Italian manager previously had a spell at City as an Elite Development Squad coach and later as Guardiola’s assistant coach in the treble-winning campaign during 2022/23. Maresca moved on to manage Leicester City for one season in 2023/24, guiding them to Premier League promotion before being head-hunted by Chelsea in 2024. He leaves the team in 5th in the Premier League, distanced away from the early season title charge but also in the play-off places in the Champions League.
Could Manchester United Be In The Running?
The sacking of Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim has slightly complicated matters, if reports are to be believed. The abrupt sacking of the Portuguese coach after his outburst last weekend forced the United hierarchy to get rid of Amorim, with no replacement in mind. Public backing by Sir Jim Ratcliffe in the past reinforces that he was expected to be given 3 years at the helm, however the situation could place a domino effect in the Maresca saga.
The Red Devils are currently busy looking to hire a caretaker manager until the end of the season, before ultimately drawing up a shortlist of managers to interview for the permanent role in the summer. As time passes, if Maresca finds that there is no guarantee of Guardiola leaving City, he may well find himself in the running for the United job.
What Can Maresca Bring To City?
Maresca’s style of play boasts a high-energy press with overloading wide areas aggressively through attacking full backs. The Italian has stuck to his guns in playing a 4-2-3-1 setup with Chelsea this season, having played a 4-3-3 in his time at Parma and 4-4-2 shape with Leicester, showing that he shapes his teams adaptably according to the situation and team. Inheriting the masses of Chelsea players when he first arrived at Stamford Bridge deserved high credit, steadying the ship and condensing an A, B and C version of senior players into his own best squad.
As the catalyst of a breakdown in relations, there was a certain stubbornness to BlueCo’s policy of not purchasing senior players. Maresca was managing the youngest average Premier League side, rarely ever fielding a player above 28 in his time at the club. Any manager, especially in clutch situations, would love to rely on experienced players to guide the team in match situations. Maresca never truly had that during his tenure, which is something that will excite him at the prospect of this current iteration of City’s squad.
The latest summer window blended experience with exciting youth prospects, with Gianluigi Donnarumma (26), Tijjani Reijnders (26), Rayan Cherki (21) and Rayan Ait-Nouri (24) being the headline signings. The January transfer window will mark a good signifier of whether City look to plan in preparation of Pep’s possible departure by signing – or not signing – profiles to add to the Blues’ Premier League title charge and beyond.
