Enzo Maresca has downplayed the impact of Rodri's £65m departure to Barcelona, insisting Manchester City will search for the 'new Rodri' in the same way they replaced Sergio Agüero with Erling Haaland. The Italian, in his first season as City manager, acknowledged the loss of the Ballon d'Or winner is significant but remains unfazed.
Maresca on finding a replacement
'How do we solve that problem? We try to find the new Rodri, it is what it is. [Before] Rodri arrived here, he didn't win the Ballon d'Or, he didn't win the Champions League, he didn't win the Club World Cup. He joined the club, then he achieved many important things,' Maresca said.
'Now the target for us is to try to find the new Rodri. I was thinking on Thursday night, when David Silva was here, everyone was worried and Kevin [De Bruyne] arrived. When Sergio [Agüero] was here, everyone was worried [when he was going to leave] and Erling [Haaland] arrived. Fernandinho? Rodri arrived. It is just about this. When they leave, you need to be good at recruiting the next one.'
'They are all similar, David, Kevin, Fernandinho, Rodri, Erling – it is normal, it is change, it is not a problem, go again and try to do the right things.'
Rodri's exit and player departures
Rodri had expressed a desire to leave City, and Maresca, like his predecessor Pep Guardiola, said he would not block a player who wishes to move on. 'He can go, absolutely. If he is not happy, he is not going to perform in the right way,' he said.
The club is also reportedly set to sell Savinho and Omar Marmoush to Tottenham Hotspur for a combined £160m, according to recent reports.
Community Shield defeat and reaction
City lost 3-0 to Arsenal in last Sunday's Community Shield in Cardiff. Ahead of Sunday's Premier League opener against Bournemouth, Maresca said the critical reaction to that defeat was anticipated.
'It was good, and normal. It is normal that you are upset straight after the game. We were all upset,' said the manager. 'We wanted to win, we didn't win so it's a normal reaction but after Tuesday we started to prepare for Bournemouth, you have to switch off one thing and focus on the next one. It was two days where we were not happy and now the focus has to be Bournemouth.'
Training under Maresca
Maresca has been pleased with the players' attitude in training since he took over from Guardiola. 'Since day one the attitude has been very good,' he said. 'For them it is not easy. When you work with the same person every day then change, it changes everything.'
He drew a comparison to his own experience: 'I am an actor and I work with the same director, and we make movies for 10 years. Suddenly the director changes, me as the actor I'm still thinking in the same way as I was with the previous director but now the director is new so I need to adapt. It's complicated, it's not easy. It's not an excuse but it requires a little bit of time, but we need to compete as soon as possible.'
Maresca has settled on an ideal squad size, including several academy graduates. 'We have three or four academy players that will stay with us because they impressed me in pre-season. Kaden [Braithwaite], [Floyd] Samba and Ryan McAidoo. Then, for me personally we need around 21-22 players. Around 20 players plus these three young players full of energy – we are happy.'
