Maresca Faces Transfer Dilemmas Ahead of Community Shield

Enzo Maresca is braced for a frantic finish to the transfer window – but one blockbuster move is already off the table.

Manchester City will not meet Chelsea’s 5pm Friday deadline to sign Enzo Fernández, despite the midfielder being a long-standing target and a familiar face to Maresca from their time together at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea want £120m and made it clear that if the valuation was not met by the cut-off, talks would effectively be parked.

For Maresca, the timing could hardly be more awkward. His first major game in charge comes on Sunday, the Community Shield against Arsenal in Cardiff, yet his squad for the season is still very much a work in progress.

“Not today to be honest, I don’t think we’re going to do something today,” he said when asked about incoming business. “For sure there are things we need to do, how many I don’t know, can be one can be two depends also if players want to leave so we can see.

“It’s 48 hours for the final, my first final in this club, I would like to win my first trophy, so my focus isn’t on players that can leave or players that can arrive, my focus is on the game.”

City are close to landing 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille, a deal that fits the club’s long-term planning even as the senior squad shifts around him. The sense is of a team being rebuilt on the move, with Maresca trying to prepare for silverware while the ground is still shifting under his feet.

At the heart of that uncertainty sits Rodri. Barcelona have already had two bids rejected for the midfielder, who has just a year left on his contract, and a third offer is expected. Rodri returned to City on Friday after his post-World Cup holiday, walking back into a club that wants to keep him and a market that refuses to let him go quietly.

“The transfer window is open, we can buy players, we can sell players, anything can happen,” Maresca said. “I just saw Rodri now in the building, I gave him a big hug, he looks good, so we’ll see what happens.”

While City dig in over Rodri, they are prepared to cash in elsewhere. Tijjani Reijnders is set to join Al-Qadsiah in the Saudi Pro League after the clubs agreed a £51m fee. The Dutchman arrived from Milan last summer but has pushed for more regular minutes and is now on the brink of a swift exit.

“They all work every day, they all do sessions every day and at the end of the week they all want to play a game,” Maresca said. “When they don’t play, they struggle to understand or they struggle to see the reason why and I can understand that after one season some of them would like to play a little bit more. It’s a normal situation.”

Normal or not, it adds to the churn. James Trafford has already been sold to Leeds. Omar Marmoush, Rico Lewis and Savinho, all peripheral figures in Pep Guardiola’s final season, could follow Trafford and Reijnders out of the door if suitable offers arrive.

So Maresca walks into Cardiff with a trophy on the line, a midfield talisman courted by Barcelona, a £120m target left hanging at Chelsea, and a squad that may look very different by the time the window slams shut. His first piece of silverware is up for grabs on Sunday. His first major decisions in the market are only just beginning.